Megaman Zero X: Humanus Machina
by Fiori-161
Summary: A rewrite of my AU story containing characters from Megaman X, Megaman Zero and Megaman ZX; With the loss of the legendary Omega, the Maverick Hunters need a new warrior to pick up the slack. Enter Zero, a mechanic with more depth than anyone could forsee
1. Chapter 1: A New Warrior

Okay, here's the first chapter of my rewritten version of Megaman Zero X: Humanus Machina. I've reworked the plot, and added more action, more character development and more comedy, mostly from Axl. I have my line from A to Z mapped out, but I'm missing a few letters; if you have a favourite moment or character from Megaman X, Zero or ZX that you'd like to see in this story, send a PM or tell me in a review. No guarantees that I can work them in, but I'll give it a shot.

Read On and Enjoy: God how I've missed saying that!

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Chapter 1: A New Warrior

Abel City; a sprawling metropolis that controls the vast majority of the planet, with the High Council in control of the government and the military. The city, along with its sister Giga City, is in a state of recovery. Only three years prior, the planet was consumed in a massive conflict that devastated most of the population, stretching for a whole ten years. This period will be forever known as the Eve War. Abel City was not excused from the destruction; only the vast city centre was left untouched. Much of the outskirts have been devastated and reconstruction is a far-away dream. Because from the ashes of the Eve War a new conflict rose; the Maverick War. A large army composed of fighting Mechaniloids and soldiers disillusioned from the Eve War still attack government installations and try to ignite the populous against the High Council, led by a commander from the Eve War. This army called itself the Mavericks, and was extremely effective in its attacks.

In response to the attacks, the High Council created a massive new fighting force to assist the ailing military; the aptly named Maverick Hunters. The military Units were attached to a new Commander, Signas, and an old government building was totally revamped with the latest technology. The major breakthrough made by the Maverick Hunters was something with both military and civilian applications; the Human Reconstruction Program. Able to replicate lost limbs, organs and all other internal systems, so long as the heart and brain remained intact, the Reconstruction Program was the saving grace of the government, despite the losses caused by both the Eve and Maverick Wars. With the latest weaponry and enhanced strength and reflexes from the Reconstruction Program, the Hunters were able to match some of the more powerful Mavericks. But anyone could see that the Hunters were losing. They needed a way to turn the tide of the war, but their best Hunters had either turned Maverick or had been killed. They needed a new Hunter, one as powerful as the now legendary Omega. Fate was now ready to intervene in the war, and a new warrior would soon emerge to engage the Maverick threat.

Abel City Central; a small Maverick force was attacking a squadron of Hunters from the 17th Elite Unit, led by Hunter pair X and Axl from Alpha Squad. X was clad in high-tech blue armour, with the latest in Buster technology; twin cannons loaded into the arms of his armour. Axl chose for a dual-chromatic armour; red and grey, with a handgun modified for extra power to blow through the Mechaniloid armours. The other Hunters from the 17th had the basic laser rifles issued to military personnel. Bullets, lasers and plasma bursts were traded by Hunter and Maverick alike, with more hunters falling than Mavericks.

"Damn things are burrowed in like tics!" Axl snarled as he ducked behind the crude barrier they had erected and reloaded his pistol. "They really should just give up and die already!"

"Tell them that!" X yelled in reply, blowing a Maverick to pieces. He ducked into cover as the Mavericks returned fire and tapped the side of his helmet, activating his com-system. "Layer!" he said, "please tell me there are no civilians in the area!"

Inside Hunter HQ, Alpha Squad's command room was manned by Navigators; Hunter Squads intelligence officers. The Navigators for Alpha Squad were Ciel, Palette and Layer, with Head Navigator Lumine and Medical Officer Iris overseeing.

"I wish I could tell you that," Layer said, watching displays from security cameras as well as other information being displayed on large screens inside the crystalline room as she tapped furiously on her keyboard, "but according to the database, there is one civilian in the area. Name on record is Zero; a mechanic in a garage fifty metres behind Maverick lines. You're going to have to blow through that barricade if you're going to evacuate him."

"Great," X said, before telling Axl the situation, "We've got a civ in a building past Maverick lines, fifty metres."

"Oh yay," Axl said, "another rescue-op. What's the plan?"

"I'll let you know when I come up with one," X said, before leaning over the barrier they had erected to fight off the Mavericks and firing more shots to reduce the Maverick presence. X realised that the Mavericks wouldn't just move aside and open a path, so he came up with a quick way. He activated both of his Busters, calling for cover fire to distract the enemy. Axl groaned; he knew what was coming before X even voiced it.

"This isn't going to work," he said to X as they prepared an old plan.

"Sure it will," X said brightly, "remember 22nd Street? It worked then."

"22nd Street?" Axl said, turning white, "WE ALMOST DIED ON 22nd STREET!"

"Details," X said, before addressing the troops, "Open fire on my mark." The soldiers readied their weapons, and Axl, still groaning and mumbling, prepared as well. "FIRE," X shouted, and the Hunters minus him jumped up and began to open fire. X rose a second later and pointed both his Busters between the Maverick positions, charging them. The plasma cores glowed, and energy began to gather as he stood there, exposed. But because of controlled fire and Axl's precision firing ability, any Maverick that aimed at him was instantly dropped. Once the charging was complete, X fired and two bursts of fully condensed plasma shot across the gap between them, slamming into the enemy barricade and causing a massive explosion that cleared away the remaining Mavericks.

"Alright, come on," X said, "We have a civilian to clear out of this area." The team rushed forward, quickly closing the gap before they heard a whistling noise. X ordered a halt and listened.

"Oh crap," he said, "HIT THE DECK!" All of the Hunters dropped to the floor as a guided missile shot over their heads and slammed into the building they were trying to reach. The building, after a breath, was consumed by fire and noise as the missile exploded. X, ears protected by his helmet, began calling for a medical team and a fire crew.

"Well," Axl said sarcastically, hands behind his head, "this is going to look good in our report."

X didn't answer. The civilian they were supposed to save was being sent to hospital with massive burns and damaged limbs. It was a miracle that he survived at all; the same couldn't be said for his garage. The thing was totally destroyed, and it didn't look like there was going to be any reason to repair it.

"Why'd they hit this place?" X asked out loud, eyes narrowed at the wreckage.

"What do you mean?" Axl said, looking at his partner.

"Judging from the shell the fire crew retrieved, that was a guided missile," X said, "no way was it aiming for us; all we did was duck. Which means that the Mavericks wanted to destroy this building, right?"

"Maybe," Axl said, "but why? I mean, I've never credited them with a lot of intelligence, but this makes no sense. It's just a garage for crying out loud; nothing special about it."

"Unless it wasn't the garage they were aiming for," X said, "maybe it was that guy we pulled from the wreckage that was their target."

"But why would they do that?" Axl asked, "That still makes no sense at all."

"I don't know," X said, "but I think that we've got a new piece on the board."

"I hate when you talk like that," Axl said, "this isn't an action movie."

"Iris," X said, ignoring Axl and tapping his com, "the civilian we pulled from the wreckage, is he going to make it?"

"_Not likely," _Iris said, _"most of his body was damaged in the blast. He's lucky he's survived this long. Why do you ask?"_

"Can he be put on the Reconstruction Program?"

"_I think I see what you're thinking X. I'll work on him personally. I'll give Ciel his file; see if she can give us his personality."_

"Thanks Iris," X said, "I'll see you when we get back, okay?" He cancelled the line and he and Axl caught a ride with the fire crew, which would carry them back to Hunter HQ.

Inside the Alpha Squad mission room, Ciel was preparing her profile on the civilian, Zero. Once X and Axl turned up, she stood up and put his information on the main screen.

"Zero," she said, "aged about seventeen; he's been working in Abel City for the past three years or so as a mechanic. According to the bills charged to the garage, he was very good at what he did; no one's complained about his work, he does it well and seems to enjoy what he's doing. Everything before that, where he was born, where he lived, his real name, everything is absent from the file. He probably never even registered that information."

"So what's he like?" X asked.

"He's a cipher," Ciel said, "a loner. He orders all his food to the garage, which is where he lived, and he orders parts as well. In fact, only the people that go to his garage know what he looks like because he's such a recluse. He has no personal life; everything is lived in machines. At best, he may just be a quiet, reserved person who doesn't want to interact with other people."

"And at worst," Lumine said, taking the lead, "he could very well be a psychotic nut-job that's biding his time to unleash some sort of terror on Abel City."

"Aren't you a bucket of laughs, Lumine," Axl said, "sounds like you and the new guy will get on well together, doesn't it; birds of a feather and all that." The others laughed while Lumine scowled. A beep in Iris's lab coat sounded, and she pulled out a local communicator.

"Go," she said as she put the communicator to her ear. She listened for a moment, before saying, "Great, I'll be down in a moment." She pocketed the communicator. "Zero's been brought in. I'm going to handle his reconstruction personally. His body's going to need a massive overhaul; all his bones are broken and he's been stuck on life support. This is going to take a while." She left the mission room, Ciel closed Zero's file and the rest of the team began to work on their report on the previous op.

"I'm going down to R&D," Lumine said, "let me know how the civilian's reconstruction goes." Lumine left through the pneumatic doors, leaving the Navigators and their charges alone.

Lumine didn't head to R&D though. In fact, he went straight to his private office and sat down at his computer, punching in a code and setting up a secure Audio Only line. The signal was bounced across various receiver towers in Abel City, before being sent up to the Eurasia Space Colony hanging in low orbit for the next few days to receive supplies. The colony bounced the signal around before sending it down to Giga City, which bounced it around its own receiver towers and sent it to its intended destination.

AUDIO ONLY flashed up in big red letters on his computer screen, and a computer-distorted voice sounded through the speakers.

"_Report, Lumine," _the voice said.

"It's done," he said, "The civilian has been approved for Reconstruction. Iris herself is overseeing it."

"_Excellent," _the voice said, _"the money has been wired straight to your private account. Untraceable, like we agreed."_

"Thank you," Lumine said, "I'll see to what we agreed on personally."

"_You had better, Lumine, or Lord Sigma will be most displeased with our... arrangement." _The line was cancelled at the voice's end, and Lumine leant back in his chair, a smug smile on his face. He sat there for a while, before leaving his office and went up to R&D to check on the latest developments for weaponry.

_Zero was working on repairing a part that had been brought in. He was sitting at his workbench like he always did, tuning out the noise of another skirmish outside his door. Not once had anything happened to him in the dozens of skirmishes that had been played out on this street. Luck, most likely. Alia always said he was lucky, but he had stopped believing it a long time ago. _

_For the hundredth time that day, Zero glanced up at the photograph he kept on the bench. Him and Alia, before the fire; he hated how happy he looked in the photo. That was when he heard the glass smash and something fly into his garage. On instinct, he grabbed the photo and ducked under the desk before the missile exploded. A white hot heat engulfed him, and then it all just faded into black. _

Zero opened his eyes, blinking and looking around. He was in a sterile white room, with bright lights glaring down on him. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes before casting them afresh over the room. Apart from the bed he was lying on, there was nothing in there. It was larger than a hospital room, but smaller than a standard hotel room. He looked at himself next; not a mark on him. That was odd, considering he had just survived an explosion. His hair felt like it was the same length as well, again odd. He flexed his fingers, and heard something even odder than everything else. He did it again, just to confirm. There was no doubt; that was a mechanical sound. What the hell was going on? He moved to stand up; there it was again, a mechanical, metallic sound as he moved. He suddenly noticed a pile of clothes by his bed that he hadn't seen before. He changed quickly into a black t-shirt, blue jeans, trainers and a red hooded jumper before moving to the door.

His long blonde hair hung freely as he pressed a button on a pad near the door. The door whooshed open and he stepped out into a monochromatic hallway, devoid of life. His footsteps echoed as he walked around, looking for the exit. His green eyes kept flickering in circles as he searched, not bothering with keeping quiet. As he turned a corner, he saw and heard a small group of people heading his way. He ducked back behind the corner, listening to their conversation.

"What do you think he's going to do when we tell him?" A young, male voice said.

"Probably have a fit," another male voice said, "I would've if I'd been as burnt as he was and my skin was suddenly cleaner than a-" the group rounded the corner and Zero pounced, knocking through them and sending them to the ground. He stumbled, but started to barrel through the halls at speed.

"Shit, he's running," X said as he climbed off the ground, "I'm going after him. Someone call for back-up." X pelted down the hall after Zero. The group had been X, Axl, Iris and Ciel; Iris and Ciel were lucky enough to avoid Zero's surprise attack, but Axl took most of the attack and was currently unconscious.

"This is Chief Medical Officer Iris," Iris began speaking into a communicator, "Zero has left his room and is now running. X is after him, but Zero's going to hurt himself if he pushes himself any further. Close off the halls on the medical level and keep him occupied until I'm down there." Iris looked over Axl quickly, before deciding he wasn't in any immediate danger before sending Ciel after X to help him talk to Zero. Ciel nodded and dashed off after them. Iris had to get Axl awake in case Zero decided to attack them.

As Zero ran through the halls, he was aware of a few things:

A) He was being followed

B) He felt stronger than he had ever felt in his entire life

And C) Most of his body was mechanical

Suddenly, and alarm ripped through the halls, and he could hear more sets of feet coming up behind him and a group of armed military-types blocked his exit. Before they reacted, Zero struck. He raised a fist and punched one in the face as he came up to the blockade. He kicked another one in the gut, before spinning around and dropping the rest with fists and elbows. Once they were gone, he ran off again, but didn't get far. Another group of soldiers blocked his escape, pointing rifles at him. He turned and made to run back where he came, but one of the guys he knocked over before was back up and blocking his way.

"You can run," he said breathlessly, "I'll give you that."

"What the hell have you done to me?" Zero asked with steady voice despite his heavy breathing. His green eyes narrowed at the guy. He had brown, spiky hair and brown eyes, and seemed to be trying to work him work.

"We saved your life," he said, "my name is X. I'm a member of the Maverick Hunters."

"And I care who you are," Zero snapped, still prepared to run if he got an opening, "why exactly?" As he spoke, he saw X's eyes dart behind him. Zero turned slightly, before lashing out and snapping a punch into a soldier's face. The soldier dropped, letting go of his rifle. Zero grabbed it and pointed it at X with one hand. X stopped in his tracks.

"Move and you die," Zero said, finger on the trigger.

"You're no killer," X chanced, not sure if talking was a part of the 'move and you die' declaration.

"No," Zero said, "I'm a pragmatist." He moved, faster than X thought possible, and flipped the gun around and made to smack it into X's head. X managed to duck, and Zero took his chance. As the soldiers opened fire, Zero decided to try out this mechanical body of his. He ran straight to the windows lining the hall and jumped out of one, smashing the glass and entering empty space. He seemed to hang there for a second, before he plummeted out of sight.

"HOLD YOU FIRE!" X yelled as he moved to the broken window and watched with amazement as Zero dropped ten floors to the ground and landed on his feet. Even more amazing was the fact that only a few seconds after, he started to run from the headquarters.

Ciel popped up out of nowhere. "What happened?" she asked, concerned.

"He got away," X said, "He jumped out of this window and ran like he was still being chased."

Ciel looked at the window, then down to the ground. "I know where he's going; can you rent a cruiser from the garage?"

"So long as I don't blow it up," X said "I've killed more cruisers than Mavericks." Ciel laughed as they headed down to the garage level, prepared to pursue the now armed and frightened individual known as Zero.


	2. Chapter 2: A Hunter in the Making

Chapter 2: Hunter in the Making

Zero, as anyone could have guessed, headed back to his garage. He had stopped in a small alleyway and bundled his hair up into the hood on his jumper, obscuring his face, as well as taking a few seconds to work out how the rifle worked. Zero closed his eyes, taking deep breaths as he let his hands wander over the metal. With a few clicks to figure out where the safety was, he slid it under his jumper and held it there as he walked, doing his best not to attract attention. When he got to the garage, he dropped his hood and stared with wide-eyed shock. All that was left of the old building was charred metal and smouldering wood. Zero began to crawl over the wreckage and, relying on memory, found roughly where his workbench should be. Then he began to dig; he grabbed and tossed bits of wood and metal like it was nothing. As he dug, he ignored things like cuts and bruises. Then he found it; the metal bench had somehow survived the explosion. He cleared out under it and found what he was looking for; his photograph. It was scratched and charred from the heat of the explosion, but it had survived.

"A miracle," he said to himself, before he pocketed it and turned to find a new place to live. He was going to leave the rifle behind when he left; he only took it to make a point. But then, he heard something. Mechanical footsteps sounded from behind him; big and heavy, like a construction Mechaniloid. As he turned, drawing the rifle, a Mechaniloid rose from behind the wreckage. It was twisted and looked ready to rip him to pieces. It opened its mouth, roaring a static roar. Zero didn't blink; he began squeezing shots from the rifle at the robotic creature as he ran. The creature followed after him, unfazed as it took shot after shot.

"Okay, armour is too thick for lasers," Zero said, making a mental checklist of this machine's abilities. "It's slow, which means I can outrun it." He squeezed off a few more rounds before running off. But the Mechaniloid had other ideas; it began lumbering after him, roaring its mechanical roar before advancing faster than it should be able to. Its claws tore through the streets after the newly reconstructed Zero, who realised he wasn't going to have enough time to find a weak spot unless he got out of there quickly.

"Come on Zero, THINK!" he yelled at himself. He ducked down into a nearby alleyway and slammed his body against it, breathing heavily from a combination of exhaustion and the first real fear he had felt in a long time. The Mechaniloid, at least, couldn't turn very well, so he may have bought himself some time. Zero closed his eyes and saw himself surrounded by black, the massive Mechaniloid bearing down on him. The only flaw was its mouth led to its power core; no laser would do enough damage to bring it down. But just maybe something else would.

Zero dashed out of his hiding place, cranking up the setting of the laser to maximum before the creature roared and headed towards him. Once a laser was set to maximum, you only had a certain amount of time to fire it before it exploded from the energy build-up.

"Eat this!" he yelled as he chucked the overloading weapon at it. The gun sailed clear into its mouth, before its jaws snapped shut. Shards of light shone through its teeth before an explosion ripped the Mechaniloid in half. Zero covered his head from the heat, and looked up at the burning mess he left in front of him, hair flaring out behind him.

"So much for leaving the rifle," Zero said, turning to leave before someone showed up. But before he could move, someone stepped out of the shadows. They were tall, covered head to toe in purple armour, with a massive cannon-like thing on their shoulder. The weapon was pointed at Zero's head. Zero didn't think; he ducked and threw himself to the side, just as a long stream of plasma shot out of the cannon and blew apart the spot that Zero occupied only a few seconds ago. The purple-clad warrior, for want of a better word, turned and fired again at the blonde mechanic, who threw himself away again.

Out of nowhere, the sound of gunshots rang out and bullets impacted on the purple warrior's armour. Distracted, he turned and Zero scrambled out of the line of fire. Speeding down the street was a blue and white Hunter cruiser; X was driving while Axl leant out the passenger window, reloading his handgun. Ciel was in the back seat, clutching at her seatbelt in fear. Axl released another hailstorm of bullets, and the purple-clad warrior turned fully on them and fired another blast of plasma. The yellow and orange stream of energy barely missed Axl; X swerved and Axl fell out of the cruiser, yelling out and rolling comically before managing to get to his feet and continue shooting with his right arm. His left was ripped to shreds; the ripped off skin revealing the synthetic parts of his reconstructions, including his metal bones. The purple-clad warrior took each bullet with minimal damage to his armour, bringing his cannon to bear and charging another shot. But X was faster; he slammed the cruiser into the warrior and knocked him off his feet, the shot of plasma going wild. Ciel threw the back door open as X began to back-up. Axl ran towards the car, dead arm swinging as he squeezed a few more shots before his gun ran out.

"GET IN!" she yelled. Zero didn't need any more incentive. He ran at the door and scrambled into the seat, climbing over Ciel. Once Zero and Axl were in, X reversed at full speed before driving off, all of the occupants of the cruiser breathless.

"WHAT THE HELL," Zero yelled at the top of his lungs, "IS GOING ON? WHO WAS THAT?"

"That was Vile," X said, hatred easily readable in his voice, "he's one of the Maverick leaders."

"That's all well and good," Zero remarked, taking a deep breath, "but what has ANY of this got to do with me? And while we're on the subject of me, why the hell is my body suddenly mechanical?"

"How can you tell that it's mechanical?" Ciel asked. Zero looked at her as if she was crazy.

"I can hear the metal shifting under my skin," he replied, "and before you keep asking, I don't know how, I can just hear machines and what's wrong with them. That's why I'm a mechanic. I'm just a mechanic that keeps his nose clean and out of other people's business. So why are these Mavericks after me?"

"We don't know," X said, "but until we find out, the safest place for you is Hunter HQ."

"Yeah, coz you guys are doing a great job at protecting people," Zero snapped, folding his arms and slamming his back into the seat. Ciel was watching him this whole time, analysing him. He got angry quickly, didn't like the Hunters, or by extension the government and was good with machines. That didn't point to someone that was going to be a massive problem if he ever joined the Hunters, which didn't seem likely at all.

"Would you stop shearing the gears?" Zero suddenly said, "the noise is grating."

"That's how I always change gears," X said defensively. He hadn't even changed gears since they drove off.

"How many cars have you wrecked?" Zero asked, ignoring the statement. When X didn't answer, Zero said "make sure to put the clutch to the floor before you switch gears, then you get rid of that grating noise that makes me want to take my chances with the purple guy."

Axl laughed. X glanced at him with a questioning look, but Axl didn't pay attention.

"Oh, we're going to get on fine once we get to know each other a little better," Axl said, turning in his seat and offering his good hand to Zero. "I'm Axl," he introduced himself, "best Hunter marksmen in Abel City."

"Zero," Zero said, shaking his hand, albeit a little reluctantly, "best mechanic on the planet."

"I don't doubt it, if you can correct X's driving," Axl said, laughing out loud again. Zero, in spite of himself, smiled a little, before his face returned to a scowl.

'_What are you holding on to?' _Ciel asked herself; Zero's just displayed behaviour showing that he was actually a nice guy. So what had happened to him that he felt had to hide it? Ciel looked away and out the window of the cruiser. What was it about this Zero that intrigued her so?

Back in the Hunter HQ Medical Bay; a room like most medical bays but stacked with lots of towers that ran the computers, as well as a massive scan room that did everything from MRI to ultraviolet radiation. Zero was currently strapped into said machine, being subjected to Iris's custom scan to detect problems with the mechanical skeleton and synthetic organics of reconstructed bodies. Axl's arm had been repaired, and now the entirety of Alpha Squad was watching.

"Alright," Iris said, "this was Zero before his reconstruction." She tapped a few keys on the keyboard on her desk, and an X-Ray image of Zero with everything organic coloured green. "As you can see, there was nothing at all inorganic in his body. Now I'm going to adjust the image to show the reconstructions." She tapped a few more keys, and most of the green image turned orange. The only parts that remained green were his head and a section of his chest, and even that was tinted with orange.

Axl whistled, before commenting; "Now THAT'S a lot orange."

"Exactly," Iris said, "we've had to replace about eighty percent of his body, and that includes arteries, veins, muscle tissue, skin tissue; everything about his body is now either mechanical or synthetic. But I've found no medical evidence that he can hear machinery that's specifically designed not to make noise."

"It might be more of an instinct than anything," Ciel said, "X wasn't even changing gears when he pointed out that he sheared them."

"A more disturbing thing is that if anyone else put themselves through the same physical exercise and trauma as Zero did after receiving their reconstructions, they'd have killed themselves or, at the very least, damaged their reconstructions."

"But Zero didn't?" Lumine said, interjecting for the first time.

"No, and that's the weird thing," Iris said, "I ran a scan to check his RP signature, and I got this." She clicked away again and instead of an image of Zero the group was shown a brightly coloured and shifting image that was to represent the energy given off by the reconstructions.

"That's a lot of energy," X said, "but why is that important?"

"This is why," Iris said, tapping the keys again and bringing up a split screen; Zero's signature was on one side, while someone else's was displayed next to it. "That's Omega's last recorded RP signature. When I overlap them," she tapped the keys again and the images overlapped perfectly, "they match. I'm going to do more research before I clear Zero for active duty."

"We don't have time for that," a deep voice said, and a hulking figure dressed in military-green armour, a massive scar lining his face diagonally. X and Axl stood to attention, saluting him. The others stood a little straighter, but didn't salute. Commander Signas walked over to the screen, looking at the matching patterns.

"Sir, if Zero has a pattern that matches Omega's," Iris said, "that could indicate he might turn on us. I want to do a few more tests to make sure it's not a calibration error."

"Ciel, you're our best psychologist," Signas said, "Is there a chance he'll turn on us?"

"If given the chance," Ciel said, "he'd leave, but he's not likely to join people that tried to blow him to pieces."

"That's all I need," Signas said, "make sure he hasn't damaged himself and then have him report to me. That's an order, Medical Officer." Iris shut her mouth; she wouldn't disobey a direct order. No matter how right she thought she was.

"Iris, can you give me a copy of those energy readings?" Lumine asked.

"No, I can't," Iris said, "I'm busy." She turned and continued her work as the others left. Lumine scowled as he left the room after them, leaving Iris with her tapping.

"Alright, just lift your arms up to shoulder height," Iris said, holding a portable computer with Zero's reconstruction calibration data on it.

"Is this really necessary?" Zero asked as he did what he was told.

"Probably not with what you've proven you can do," Iris said, "but I'm Chief Medical Officer so I want this done by the book. Stretch your arms out in front of you."

"Whatever you say," Zero said, stretching his arms in front of him. This continued for a few more minutes until the door opened and Ciel walked in.

"What do you want Ciel?" Iris asked.

"I'm supposed to escort Zero to his meeting with the commander," she said, "but I'm happy to wait if you're not finished." Ciel sat down as she said it, so Zero continued with the exercises that Iris gave him, until she was finally satisfied.

"A word of advice, Zero," Iris said as he left with Ciel, "Show the commander some respect. He fought in the Eve War, and doesn't enjoy being talked back to."

Zero looked like he was about to make a sarcastic remark, but stopped himself and simply said, "Thanks for the advice."

Ciel and Zero walked in silence to the commander's office, taking an elevator up to the top floor. Zero, instead of standing next to Ciel in the small cubicle, moved to a corner, leaning on the wall and folding his arms.

"Do I smell or something?" Ciel asked, looking at the moody mechanic.

"I prefer my own personal space," Zero said, not looking at her, "is that a problem?"

"No," Ciel said, "just wondering." Zero looked at Ciel, locking eyes with her. All of a sudden, the world seemed to go black, with two spotlights centred on them. Zero's eyes softened from his glare, and Ciel's heart and breathing began to speed up. Then the elevator stopped, the jolt bringing the two of them back to reality. They exited the elevator, and Ciel showed him to Signas's office.

"Now it's time for my advice," Ciel said, "don't lie to him. He can see more about you then you can imagine."

"Thanks," Zero said, lingering a little before entering the office. Once the door closed, Ciel hurried away from the room, getting back into the elevator and shutting the doors, breathing heavily. What was that feeling? She had never felt anything like that before.

Zero looked around the office. Despite the modernity of the building, the office had a simple paintjob, a large wooden desk and a retro-looking computer from the early 2000's sitting atop it, along with reports of some kind strewn across the desk. Signas himself was standing with his hands behind his back, looking out the massive window that covered the back wall.

"I'd ask you to take a seat, but you won't, will you?" Signas said. His voice sounded rough and uncompassionate, but the tone he took suggested otherwise.

"I don't plan on it," Zero said. Signas turned to Zero and gestured to a seat before taking his at his desk. Zero considered standing, just to prove that Signas had made a correct analogy of his personality, but decided against it. His legs felt tired anyway, so he sat down in front of the commander and leant back, folding his arms. Signas linked his fingers and rested his elbows on the desk.

"As you no doubt know, Zero," Signas began, "the Hunters aren't fairing well in this war with the Mavericks. We lose more battles than we win, and our numbers are becoming depleted, even with the Reconstruction Program on our side. And some of our top Hunters are either defecting or being killed."

"Is that why you brought me here?" Zero asked. "So I can join up?"

"Not entirely," Signas said, "we believe the Mavericks are targeting you because your RP signature is a direct match to our former top Hunter, Omega."

"Omega," Zero said, the word rolling off his tongue, "who's that?"

"As I said, he was our top Hunter," Signas continued, "but he was killed in a mission about three years ago now. His RP signature; that is, his Reconstruction Program signature, was the highest we'd ever seen. At least, until you showed up," he said.

"How could the Mavericks know that?" Zero asked, "Seems a little far-fetched that they could know my RP signature before I got reconstructed."

"They might want you for a different reason," Signas said, "but that's the most reliable theory I've got."

"Right, so you want me to take this Omega's place?"

"Not right away," Signas said, "you need to be trained in combat, and not the pragmatist combat you displayed during your escape. Once that's done, I'll put you on active duty with Alpha Squad; the group you've been interacting with. If all goes well, you may become what Omega was; a hero." Zero nodded, and then stood up.

"When do I start?" he asked, leaning on the desk.

"No protest?"

"I've got no job and no place to live," Zero said, "and I've got an angry purple guy with a cannon the size of a mounted turret after me. I'm not getting bailed out again."

"Excellent," Signas said, "X and Axl are down in the R&D department. Underground level 2; you'll like it."

Zero didn't say anything. He stood up straight, gave a two finger salute instead of saying goodbye, turned and went to leave. But before he did, he stopped and looked back.

"Just so you know," he said, "I'm no hero." Then he left, leaving Signas with his thoughts.

"Not just his signature," Signas said, "he even reminds me of Omega." Signas leant back and folded his arms, looking somewhat satisfied. "This is going to be very interesting."


	3. Chapter 3: Zero's Potential

Chapter 3: Zero's Potential

Zero arrived at R&D, and looked around in wonder as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out. Everywhere, workers and Mechaniloids were grinding away at metal or piecing together new vehicles and equipment. Zero could hear everything; every little movement of anything and everything mechanical was for him to hear.

"Yo, Z-Meister," a voice said, cutting through the sound of machines. Zero turned and saw X and Axl standing with someone, obviously a mechanic, tinkering away on some sort of small cannon. "Over here!"

"Don't call me that," Zero said, walking over.

"Right," X said, "sorry Z. Anyway, this is Douglas, our resident grease monkey and science nerd."

The mechanic looked up, flicking his visor off of his face and revealing circular glasses beneath it. His attire was similar to the armour Zero had seen the military types use, but it was thicker and probably did something else other than protect him.

"So, you're Zero," he said, holding out a hand, "Axl's been telling me you finally figured out why X keeps destroying cruisers. About time someone figured that out."

Zero smiled in spite of himself, shaking Douglas's hand. He gestured to the equipment set out on the table in front of them. "What's all this?"

"Your armoury," Douglas said, "these are the weapons available to Hunters. Thought I'd just set out the basics, see what you like."

Zero looked at the weapons laid out on the table, running his hands over them. There was a rifle like the one he stole during his escape, as well as a pistol and the small cannon. A few other things were laid on the table, but Zero wasn't paying much attention to the smaller items. He picked up the rifle, making sure it was charged and ready.

"That's got our patented laser tech in it," Douglas said, "our XR-22 Infantry Assault Rifle. It has single shot and automatic fire settings, as well as a stun setting and a sniper attachment to save money on developing weapons." Zero hefted it a little, then looked around and pointed the rifle at a section on the wall. X and Axl backed up, but Douglas was curious. Zero pulled the trigger and shot a single shot into the wall; on closer inspection he realised that he hit about a centimetre off where he was aiming.

"Scope's out a little," he said, laying the rifle on the table. Douglas was wide-eyed, while Axl and X were grinning. Zero picked up the pistol next, and noticed that it was loaded with bullets rather than a laser core.

"We can't shrink the battery any smaller to make a laser pistol that's effective," Douglas explained when Zero asked about it, "So I just increased the explosive power of the bullets." Zero knew it would be a bad idea to unload bullets into a metal, enclosed space, so he just put the gun down. Then he came to the cannon.

"That's a Buster," Douglas said, "uses your armour core to power a blast of plasma. Vile, the guy that tried to kill you, uses a stronger version we developed for tanks and turrets."

"But he can use it with one arm," Zero said, laying the Buster down slowly, "remind me not to get hit by him." Zero suddenly heard a spark and a small explosion, coupled with a yell and a crash. Zero moved through the workshop and came to a small work station that was covered with three small white cylinders that resembled torches and a four-pronged version of them.

"What are these?" Zero asked, picking one up and looking down the tube. "Some sort of torch?"

"I wouldn't turn it on while you're looking down it," Douglas said, "That's an experimental beam sabre. We've been trying to create blades made of energy for a while, but the battery size and drain makes them impractical."

Zero flipped the cylinder around in his hand and flicked the 'on' switch. A burst of green energy flared out and shifted, as if he was holding pure flames in his hand. After a few seconds, the battery died and the energy dissipated into the air.

"You need to loop it," Zero said, before sitting down and grabbing a few tools.

"What?" Douglas asked.

"The energy," Zero explained, "needs to be looped back into the battery so to increase battery life, as well as making it a practical weapon." Zero clamped his mouth shut and began to unleash all of his mechanical skill on this simple cylinder. He pried open the cylinder and noted the complex circuitry of the small weapon. He grabbed tools and began to work, drawing a crowd of engineers, who were sceptical of his abilities.

"No way he can make that work," one of them said, "we've been working on them for months."

"Don't underestimate this guy," X said, "he knows exactly what he's doing."

In reality, Zero had no clue what he was doing. He had no idea of the finer points of how most things worked, apart from vehicles, but his instincts always led him down the right path of fixing things. So he let those instincts take over; his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he relied totally on hearing and touch. Colour and light drained from the world as he focused entirely on those senses, manipulating the machinery that lay under his fingertips. He moved circuits to new places and reversed the way the battery sat, fixing these improvements into place. He tinkered like this for a few more minutes before coming out of his trance and closing the cylinder up again. Everyone around him waited with bated breath as he stood with the sabre in his hand. In one movement, he flicked the switch and swung the blade around. Everyone ducked, even though he was aiming above their heads to avoid injuring them. The energy that emerged from the cylinder was no longer a shifting flame, but a solid blade of energy. Zero didn't slice through anything, so no one could see the cutting power of the blade, but they didn't have to. It was clear that in those few minutes, Zero had surpassed everyone that had worked on those weapons.

"That's not possible," Douglas said, "how did you do that?"

"Couldn't tell you," Zero said, tossing the cylinder to the mechanic, "no idea. You'll have to pull it apart and tell me." As everyone looked at him in wonder, he asked, "So what other toys do you have tucked away down here?" He began to wander through the level, seeing other mechanics and Mechaniloids building and experimenting with various objects. As he did, he came across something covered in a black tarp. He grabbed the tarp and pulled, revealing a rundown old motorcycle from the twentieth or twenty-first centuries.

"Oh, you're beautiful," he said, dropping the tarp and running a hand down the sleek machine. Its red paintjob had faded with time, and some of the parts were rusted.

"We found that a while back," Douglas said, "it's been a pet project of mine, but I can't get it to work. Want to take a shot; we have all the parts and everything, but we're not sure what to replace."

"When does Signas want me to train or whatever?" Zero asked X, who shrugged.

"Whenever you want," X said, "your situation isn't what we'd call normal."

"Then yeah, I'll get it working," Zero said, taking his jumper off to protect it from grease, grabbing a piece of wire from a nearby bench and wrapping that at the base of his hair to form a ponytail. Douglas had the tools brought over and Zero set to work. He spent the next few hours taking the bike apart, inspecting the different pieces to find out what worked and what didn't, cleaning and repairing as much as he could and replacing those beyond repair. Douglas had to leave to inspect some other projects, and Axl had target practice with the 17th Elite to attend to. X, on the other hand, had nothing to do so he sat and watched with fascination as Zero worked, often asking what a part did or what a tool was for.

"So, where did you learn how to do all this?" X asked as Zero was finishing up the last touches, "I mean, I get your whole 'machine-whispering' thing, but someone had to teach you how."

"My grandfather owned a workshop in one of the rural towns," Zero said, "he taught me the finer points of mechanics and other stuff." Before X could ask another question, Zero said, "And that's all I'm going to say on my past, so drop it."

"Alright," X said, "I wasn't prying for the sake of prying though."

Zero stopped working, wiped the sweat and grease from his forehead with a rag and sat up; he had been lying under the bike while attaching brake lines. "So, what's with the whole single letter thing anyway?"

"We don't really refer to ourselves by name here," X said, "at least, us Squad Hunters anyway. We all refer to ourselves by our codenames or nicknames we got given. Only Signas, the regular troops outside the 17th Elite, the Navigators and the other regular people that work in HQ have names."

"Fair enough," Zero said, lying back down and resuming his work.

After a while of silence, X said, "You're a hard person to figure out, Zero."

"Thanks for the compliment," Zero replied. Sliding out from under the bike, he climbed onto the seat and prepared to turn the key. The engine coughed a little when he did, but that was all. "Odd," Zero said, sure he had fixed everything. He unscrewed the fuel cap and peered inside. "There's absolutely no fuel in here," he said, "that might be why it wasn't working in the first place."

"It runs on fuel?" X asked, "I thought petrol and stuff like that had run out. Which was true; all fossil fuels had been drained during the Eve War. As far as X knew, most things were powered by solar energy, which solved most of the energy problems for Giga City and the Eurasia Colony, but Abel City only got energy from these places, so it was facing an energy crisis of sorts.

"No," Zero said, "it's still used in the rural areas, but we get delivered a synthetic liquid that has the same properties, just without the environmental impact. You're cruisers probably use it as well, you just didn't know it." Zero did a quick scan and found a fuel can that contained the right blend he needed, at least judging from the smell. He poured it into the fuel tank and then turned the key. The engine roared to life on the first turn, filling the small area of the garage with smoke as it ran through the rebuilt parts.

"Congratulations Z," X said, smacking him on the shoulder. Zero's reaction was to jerk away and grab X's wrist, but he stopped himself before flinging the Hunter over his shoulder and into a wall.

"Don't do that," Zero said, "In case you couldn't tell, I'm a little paranoid."

"Duly noted," X said, "can you let go now?" Zero did, and X rubbed his wrist. Zero shut the bike off and began clearing off all the grime.

"Now all that's left is to repaint it," Zero said, "what time is it?"

"Dinnertime, I think," X said, "either way, I'm starving. Let's go up to the cafeteria level and get something to eat." Zero followed X out of R&D and up to the cafeteria level.

As Zero was working on the bike, Axl was up on the training level with a squad of five members of the 17th Elite Unit, Alpha Squad's primary military allies during skirmishes with the Mavericks. Automated targets spat out of the walls of the large, dome-shaped room, and the objective was simple, shoot them all down without missing. Final scores were based on how many targets were hit divided by the number of bullets used.

Palette, Axl's Navigator, was coordinating the unit from above in the control centre, trying to have them work in sync. Axl was using twin pistols, and was dressed in his grey and red armour. His long, spiky hair was sticking out of his helmet, and he had a target locater over his eyes.

"Alright, training level is set to level nine," she said, tapping keys in the grey-coloured control room, "prepare for release of targets." She hit the button and the targets began to spew out of holes in the walls and ceiling. As soon as they started, it was clear Axl wasn't boasting when he told Zero he was the best marksman in the Hunters. Every bullet fired hit its target, and he never blinked.

Once the targets were destroyed, Palette quickly racked up the scores, and as a unit they had scored over 76%. Individually, Axl had scored a perfect 100%, as usual, while the squad members all scored between 50 and 80%.

"Alright, the group score was seventy-six percent," Palette said, "we'll try this again tomorrow at 0700." The group exited, but Axl stayed behind. "Is everything okay, Axl?" Palette asked, concerned. She's always had a soft spot for Axl, but never been able to tell him how she felt. Ironic, considering she was the biggest gossip in HQ.

"Nothing Palette," he said, "just wondering about stuff. I'll see you up at the cafeteria, okay?" Axl left the room, and Palette shut the system down before going into the hallway, where Layer and Ciel were waiting.

"You chickened out again, didn't you?" Layer asked.

"Shut up," Palette said, "it's harder than you think!"

"Yeah," Layer said as they started to walk, "I'm sure it is." The three Navigators walked in silence for a while, before Palette decided to break it.

"So, what do you think of the new guy?" she asked.

"Who, Zero?" Ciel asked, "He's okay; a little bit of an asshole, but likeable." Layer's response was to shrug indifferently.

"You like him, don't you?" Palette probed Ciel.

"What?"

"Come on, it's all over your face," Palette said, "You have a thing for the new guy!" she continued in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up Palette," Ciel snapped.

"Oooh, defensive," Palette said, "I don't blame you though; if my heart didn't already belong to Axl," she sighed and clasped her hands in front of her, "I'd probably like him too."

"I don't have a thing for Zero," Ciel said, slowly and clearly. "Period, Palette," she said, cutting Palette off before she could continue. She pulled out a personal computer terminal and began to run scans on the various systems inside Hunter HQ. When she got to communications, she frowned.

"That's odd," Ciel said, "there's a coded signal being sent out from HQ."

"How is that odd?" Layer asked, "Coded signals are sent out all the time."

"Because this one is being bounced all over the place," Ciel said, "I can't trace it. Someone wants something kept secret."

"It's probably just Elpizo being paranoid again," Layer said, "don't worry about it, Ciel." Ciel put the computer pad away and moved the signal from her mind. Layer was right; it wasn't anything important.

In his private office, Lumine was again conversing with the mysterious voice over his secure channel.

"Zero has fixed the problem with the energy weapons," he told his contact, "I've sent the revised schematics to you."

"_Has he shown any of Omega's skills yet?"_

"He hasn't been put through the training process," Lumine said, "but his personality seems to match."

"_What about his candidacy for your thesis?"_

"His RP signature matches Omega's perfectly," Lumine said, "I believe we may see a repeat performance in that area."

"_Lord Sigma is growing impatient with this war, Lumine," _the voice said, _"he wants it to end as much as the High Council does."_

"I understand," Lumine said, "I will transmit all of his data when I have access to it."

"_You had better," _the voice threatened, _"I have argued enough for you already. You won't be receiving payment for this until Zero displays all of Omega's abilities. Do not contact me again until you have this data you need."_ The voice cancelled the line, and Lumine let out a breath, rubbing his face. This game was becoming dangerous, but he couldn't stop playing now.

X and Zero were sitting in the cafeteria, both eating soup with bread next to them on plates. When Axl joined them, he asked how the bike had worked out.

"Everything works," Zero said, "I just need to repaint it. No way am I leaving it the way it is."

"Sounds good to me," Axl said. Just then, the girls joined them, Palette sitting next to Axl, and Layer and Ciel sitting on either side of Zero. Zero glanced at the both of them before shrugging and returning to his soup.

"Oh, that's right," X said, "these are the other members of Alpha Squad. Our Navigators, Layer," the purple-haired girl lifted a hand in greeting to Zero, who nodded, "Palette," the light blonde Navigator waved enthusiastically at him, "and you've already met Ciel."

"Pleasure," he said, directing the statement to all three women.

"So, when do you start active duty?" Palette asked Zero, smiling at him.

"Whenever I pass the training process, I think," Zero asked.

"Ah, the infamous Zero," a voice said. All present looked up and saw a man wearing a lab coat. He had a proud, vain face and purple hair that stuck out to the sides.

"Lumine," Ciel said, "where have you been all day?"

"Busy," he said shortly, redirecting his attention to the former mechanic, "so Zero," Zero looked the newcomer in the eyes, "how are you finding HQ?"

"It's not bad," Zero said, matching Lumine's cold tone, "always meeting new and interesting people." Lumine smirked; he was going to enjoy watching Zero struggle with his new training program.

"Well, I can't wait to see how you perform on the training level," Lumine said, "I do hope that we'll see an excellent performance from all of you."

"Come again?" Axl asked.

"Oh, you'll all be training together," Lumine said, "I want to see how Zero works as part of a team."

"When was that decided?" X asked, "I was under the impression that-"

"Obviously your impression was mistaken," Lumine said shortly, cutting X off. "Now, I really must be going. It was a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Zero." With that, Lumine walked off.

Once he was out of earshot, Zero said, "What a dick."

"He's always like that," Ciel said, "he thinks that because he's Head Navigator he can do what he likes. I'm going to talk to Signas and see if this was approved." Ciel left her food and headed to the elevator. In exchange, Iris turned up and sat next to X, stealing some of his bread.

"Hey," X said, "what gives?"

"They ran out," Iris said around her mouthful. X's eyes narrowed, and when Iris swallowed her food, he pounced, tickling her sides.

"That's not very nice," he said as he tickled her. Iris was laughing loudly, while the others looked on with various looks of astonishment or boredom. Zero was the most freaked out by the display; he quietly laid his spoon down and left the table, intent on finishing the bike.

"Oh, get a room you two," Axl said, "you scared Zero off." X stopped and Iris, still giggling between breaths, smacked him playfully on the arm. Such was the shenanigans of Alpha Squad.

"Sir, I don't see why a team-test is any better than an individual one," Ciel said to Signas.

"I didn't expect you to," Signas replied, "I've changed the initial test because I believe it will allow us a better understanding of Zero's personality."

"But we need a better understanding of his combat capability before we can put him into a squad."

"Ciel, I do understand your concern," Signas said calmly, "which is why I'm assigning you as his personal Navigator."

"So it's my job to babysit him now is it?" Ciel asked angrily.

"If that's how you want to look at the situation," Signas said, still calm, "then yes."

"Why me," Ciel asked, "you've never given me an assignment like this before."

"Because I think you'll get through to Zero better than anyone else," Signas said, "I don't want him to die, and I don't want him going Maverick. We've lost enough soldiers." Ciel agreed with that statement, so she calmed herself down and accepted the job. She left the office and turned on her computer terminal, tapping into the security feeds. Ciel was allowed these sorts of liberties because she had been the one working hardest on the system when HQ was established three years ago. As a result, she had an all-access pass to most of the systems in HQ. Only a few were out of her grasp, mostly because Lumine had worked on them.

She scanned through most of the security feeds until she found Zero. He was in R&D, spray-painting an archaic motorcycle. Ciel shut off the terminal, replaced it in the bag hanging off her shoulder and headed down to the garage level.

Zero was transfixed on painting the bike. Douglas had found him a spray unit and some red paint, so that he didn't have to change the colour scheme. Zero kept with the work, not noticing that someone else was in the room until they cleared their throat. He looked up and saw Ciel with two steaming foam cups in her hands.

"Hey," she said overly-brightly, "thought you might like some hot chocolate." She held out one of the cups to him.

"Thanks," Zero said uncertainly, setting the spray down and taking the cup. He took a cautious sip, but found that it tasted really good. "Mm, that's not bad," he said, grabbing a chair and offering it to Ciel before grabbing another one for himself. They sat in silence for a while, sipping the hot chocolate.

"So how did you know I was down here?" Zero asked.

"I have access to security cameras," Ciel said.

"So you were spying on me?"

"No," Ciel said quickly, "I was just wondering where you were, and it was the quickest way."

"Alright," Zero said, looking at Ciel appraisingly, as if to see if she wasn't lying. Ciel blushed and looked down, avoiding eye contact.

"So," Ciel said, taking another sip of her drink, "how long have you been down here?"

"A while," Zero said, "Iris and X were engaged in a tickling war, so I came down here during dinner. Figured I started fixing this thing," he gestured to the bike, "I may as well finish it before I turn in. On that subject, do I even have a room?"

"I'm not sure if you've been given one yet," Ciel said, setting her drink down and grabbing her computer terminal. "No, you haven't been given one yet," she said, flicking through the files, "give me a second and I'll get you one." Zero said nothing, just silently watching as Ciel flickered through more files.

"How'd you get so good with computers?" Zero asked.

"How'd you get so good with machines?" Ciel countered, recalling Zero's previous staving off of personal questions.

"Touché," Zero said, "just thought I'd ask." They sat in silence again, Zero drinking the last few drops of hot chocolate before crushing the cup and tossing it away. He returned to the bike and began to finish off the paint job.

"There's a free room you can move into on the second floor, room 209" Ciel said after a moment, is that okay?"

"That's fine," Zero said, finishing off the last few touches of the paint before shutting the spray unit down and stretching his muscles. "God, I'm never going to get used to the sound of metal as I move," he said, as once again the grating metal noise sounded as he moved. "I may as well turn in."

"Sounds like a good idea," Ciel said, stifling a yawn that showed she was tired as well. Both headed to the elevator, Zero flicking the switch that covered R&D in total darkness, apart from a few blinking red lights.

"Do you mind showing me where my room is?" Zero asked as they went up. "I don't really know my way around yet."

"Sure," Ciel said, "my room's on the same floor anyway." The elevator pinged, and the doors opened. The walk to Zero's room was short.

"Thanks," Zero said, "I should be able to find my way around now."

"Here," Ciel said, digging into her bag and pulling out a communicator, "so we can get a hold of you."

Zero looked at it for a second before taking it, his fingers brushing against Ciel's for a brief second. Both jumped at the contact, before Zero quickly entered his room and Ciel sped down the hall. Ciel was breathing heavily, concerned that she kept reacting like this. Zero was angry; it took all his self control not to hit something in frustration. He fell down onto the bed and growled like a caged wolf. When sleep finally claimed him, it remained silent and black.


	4. Chapter 4: Anger Incarnate

Chapter 4: Anger Incarnate

"Alright," Douglas said, clapping his hands together in excitement, "Zero, we have a few selections of armour for you; these haven't been tailored to fit, so just look for a style you like."

"There's no general issue uniform?" Zero asked, arms folded and leaning on a support inside R&D.

"Not for Squad members," Douglas said, "general issue is for the Units only; everyone else gets custom made armour. Weapons are even calibrated based on the Hunter's preference." Douglas had three different types of armour present, all of it uninteresting to Zero. But he told Signas he'd join up, so he swallowed his pride and began to look over the armour.

"This type is for long-range specialists," Douglas said, "like Axl. It comes with a built in targeting system, and extra weapon holders."

"I prefer to beat the crap out of things," Zero said, "instead of shooting them."

"Well, then you might like an armour similar to X's," Douglas said, gesturing to a red-coloured version of X's armour, but a bit bulkier and armoured up. "It balances movement with strength, as well as supplying enough power for twin Busters."

Zero skipped over that one completely and went to the last suit. It was grey and uncoloured, but sleek and without any drag, as far as Zero could tell.

"Oh, that's something we developed during Omega's time," Douglas said, "it maximises speed and agility, but at the sacrifice of weapon storage and power."

"I like the design," Zero said, "but the colour's a bit drab. Does it come in red?"

"I can have it painted up once we tailor a version to you," Douglas said, "let me just take a few measurements and I'll get to work. Now, what weapons do you want?"

"One of those Buster things," Zero said, listing them on his fingers, "one of those rifles and that saber I fixed for you yesterday."

"Sounds good to me," Douglas said, "do you want that particular saber or do you want a better one?"

"I'll take that one," Zero said, "thanks." Douglas nodded his head in acknowledgement and went to work, taking various measurements for the armour before punching it into a computer and hitting the 'Fabricate' option.

"Alright, that's going to take a few minutes to colour and size," Douglas said, "so, any questions?"

"Not really," Zero said, "except for how big is this place?"

"Do you mean R&D," Douglas asked, "or Maverick Hunter HQ in general?"

"HQ in general," Zero said, "I've been to the top, the bottom and a few places in between, but how big is it, really?"

"Well," Douglas said, thinking for a second, "there are only about five underground levels, but the tower itself reaches about...four or five hundred floors. I'm not really sure; I spend all my time either here or in the cafeteria."

"That sounds about right," Zero said, "When my shop wasn't a hunk of blown-out metal, I was working, eating or sleeping."

"The curse of the mechanic," Douglas said, and they both laughed. A beep from the computer sounded and Douglas pointed to the fabrication machine. "There you are; your own personal Hunter armour. I'd get it own before your training exercise, so you can get a feel for it." Zero nodded and went to the machine holding his armour. Today was going to be a fun day; he could feel it.

In the training area, the Navigators were up top, coordinating themselves for the training mission that Lumine had chosen.

"No way is Zero going to be able to do this," Ciel muttered to herself. The test was something to be done in groups larger than three; maybe Guardian Squad would be able to do it, but not Alpha Squad, especially with a rookie Hunter on the team.

Down in the actual training room, X and Axl were milling around, Axl constantly checking his guns for any problems.

"Damn," X said, "when is Zero going to get here?"

"Right about now," a voice said from the entrance. X and Axl, as well as the Navigators, looked towards the open door. Zero was leaning against the doorframe, clad in red armour that was connected to each separate piece by a type of black, flexible armour. His helmet was the same kind of red, giving Zero a more intimidating appearance than he already had. He moved off the doorframe and walked towards the other Hunters.

"So, when do we start?" Zero asked.

"Now," a voice rang out from speakers hidden in the room. Lumine had entered quietly from behind the Navigators and began the test from his own portable terminal, subverting the main controls. The room darkened and hostile targets armed with lasers spat out the walls. Axl, X and Zero moved into position, Zero relying on instinct.

"Twenty signals," Layer relayed to X, "all hostile, coming in from your right."

"Another five are coming from behind you," Palette said to Axl.

"I recommend long range combat," Ciel told Zero, "four signals to your left." Axl drew his pistols and began to shoot, target finder dropping down over his eyes. X began blasting in the general direction of where Layer directed him to fire and Zero dropped to one knee and drew his just-modified collapsible rifle. He began to shoot laser bursts in the direction of the targets, and was rewarded with one sparking dead. The targets wasted no time in returning fire and the three Hunters moved out of the way.

"Be careful," Ciel said to Zero, "Don't push too hard; it's only an exercise." But Lumine, ever crafty, had already altered the training level to allow non-lethal, but damaging bursts of fire. He was going to push Zero as hard as he could within the parameters of his discussion with Signas.

Zero could tell that something was wrong; his ears never lied. He collapsed the rifle and drew his saber. The green light from the energy lit up a decent area around the three Hunters.

"This isn't a training exercise," Zero said, grinning, "This is a game." He jumped and listened for the sounds of the targets as the others still squeezed off shots and took down other targets. Zero slashed through two before he landed back on the ground, dodging more fire that scorched the ground it hit.

"Hold on, that's not right," Ciel said, "who's changed the training level?" Ciel shut down the exercise; the targets retreated back into the walls and the lights came on.

"What are you doing Navigator?" Lumine asked angrily, "they haven't finished yet."

"Someone has altered the training level I already preset for this exercise," Ciel said, standing up and glaring at Lumine. "Was it you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes even more.

"I am in charge of this exercise," Lumine said, "and I will decide what level they will train at."

"It seems training won't be necessary," Signas's deep voice said. Lumine, Layer and Palette turned and nodded in his direction.

"What do you mean?" Ciel asked quickly.

"A Maverick strike force has entered the city centre and is taking over Fountain Square," Signas said, "I've sent two squads from the 17th Elite, but they're going to need backup. All active members of Alpha Squad are to respond. That includes Zero." Ciel looked ready to argue, but bit her tongue and nodded. "Move out," Signas said, before turning on his heels and leaving.

"Alright," Lumine said, tapping into the speakers, "listen up Hunters. There's a disturbance in Fountain Square. You're being mobilised to assist the 17th Elite. Get to some transport now."

"_Who put him on?" _Zero asked, unaware he was communicating with the control area as he and the other two left. Lumine growled, before rounding on Ciel as the other Navigators left. He grabbed her arm and shoved her against the wall.

"Don't you EVER interfere with me like that again," Lumine said. Ciel's response was to kick Lumine in the crotch.

"Don't ever touch me again," Ciel told him, "and don't try and kill people in a training exercise, and I won't interfere." She stalked out of the room, leaving Lumine in a groaning heap on the ground. Once he recovered, however, he activated his terminal and sent a coded email.

IT'S BEEN CONFIRMED

ZERO DISPLAYS ALL OF OMEGA'S TRAITS

FORCE A DISPLAY OF THE ANGEL PHENOMENON

L

Zero was nervous, to say the least. He knew he'd take down some Mavericks, but he didn't want to get rescued if he screwed up.

"Nervous," X asked him.

"Maybe a little," Zero said, flexing his fingers.

"Don't worry," Axl said, "everyone's nervous the first time. You'll be okay; we've got plenty of backup."

"I thought we _were_ the backup," Zero said, looking at Axl.

"Well..." Axl shrugged, "depends on how you look at it I suppose. I call shotgun by the way," he said as the elevator stopped and they exited to the vehicle garage level.

"Hey, Zero!" Zero turned and saw Douglas walking over, pushing the motorcycle he had fixed the day before. "Thought you might like a better mode of transportation; I know you're right-handed, so I installed a lock on the accelerator so that you can ride with one hand without having to slow down too much."

"Thanks Douglas," Zero said, before turning his attention to Axl. "You can keep shotgun; I got a front seat." He swung his leg over the seat and fired the machine up. He revved the engine a few times before shooting off out of the garage. X and Axl followed suit with the cruiser they had driven yesterday to save Zero's butt. They rode with Zero next to the driver side, maintaining the speed of the cruiser.

"_Your ten kilometres from Fountain Square," _Ciel's voice sounded over Zero's radio, _"Be careful. There are reports coming in that Vile is there. Don't get close to him if you can help it."_

"Will do, Ciel," Zero said, "anything else I should know?"

"_Not yet, I'll let you know when I do."_ Ciel cancelled the line and Zero revved the engine as Fountain Square came into sight. The normally quiet square was now covered in debris, and a long flash of plasma showed that Vile was indeed there.

"Let's take the bastard down," X growled, "ready?"

"Ready," Axl said, loading his pistol and leaning out the window of the cruiser.

"Ready," Zero said as well, locking the accelerator and drawing his saber. He knew Ciel said to avoid getting close, but he had seen firsthand how strong Vile's armour was. The newly formed Hunter trio shot into the area, Axl unloading bullets. Zero shot right past friendly lines and cut through a few Mavericks before rounding back and getting behind cover before Vile opened fire on him. He hit the brakes and let the bike scrape along the ground as he jumped off, deactivating the saber and slamming into raised cover next to X.

"Didn't you just fix that?" X asked in a playful tone; battle always brought out his sarcastic side.

"I can fix it again; that's the beauty of it," Zero replied, drawing his rifle and popping up over the barricade, shooting at the Mavericks. X joined in as well for a few moments, before they both had to drop down again. "Where's Axl?"

"Going for higher ground," X said, "no one ever looks up anymore."

Zero popped back up and shot at Vile, trying to distract him. Around him, X and the members of the 17th were firing at the Maverick troops. Vile, easily pissed off as he was, levelled the cannon at Zero and clicked the trigger.

Time seemed to slow down for the new Hunter. The world seemed to turn red as well. He shoved X out of the way, but he fell too slowly, so he jumped over the barricade, dropping the rifle and drawing his saber. He felt like everything was going too slowly, so he ran as fast as he could, slashing at the cannon. He cut through it, and time sped up as the colour returned. Zero rolled to the side and dodged the explosion that claimed the entirety of Vile's body, coating him in flame.

Axl, who was watching from above, couldn't believe what he just saw. In the few seconds before Vile could fire his cannon, Zero's body had begun to glow red. Then he shoved X to the ground and, quick as a flash, crossed the eight or so metres between him and Vile and cut his cannon in half. It was amazing.

"Palette, did you guys see that?"

"_If we hadn't tapped into the security feed, we'd have missed it. We're replaying the tape for Lumine and Iris now. I've never seen anyone move that fast, not even Omega."_

In the Alpha Squad control room, Lumine had to work hard to suppress his smirk. He had done it; he had created another, and from that brief display, one more powerful than the great Omega. His computer terminal beeped, and he checked the email.

EXCELLENT

CONCENTRATE ON SUPPLYING US WITH DATA

WE SHALL START WORK ON BRINGING ZERO TO OUR SIDE

PAYMENT HAS BEEN SENT

GOOD WORK

G

Lumine couldn't help it; he grinned. Now he could finish with this game and go back to working on his other projects.

It was a few hours after the skirmish was decided; the Hunter's had won with minimal casualties, thanks to Alpha Squad. Vile's body was left to smoulder away for a while; the cleanup crews would come to get it soon enough. But two others beat them first; a man in a different purple armour, shaped almost like a cobra's body, complete with small frills that came out of his helmet, and one in a full body golden armour that increased his size a little.

"Well, seems Zero did quite a number on you," the cobra-like one said in a soft voice, before pulling out a phial of glowing purple liquid, "but this should fix you right up." He loaded the phial into a syringe and stabbed it into Vile's spine. His body jerked and crackled with purple lightning. After a moment, the purple lighting abated and Vile groaned as he forced himself up.

"Gate," Vile said, his voice dead and mechanical, "why aren't we allowed to kill him?"

"Because Lord Sigma wants him on our side," the cobra-like one, Gate, said, "and Zero is extremely important."

"We should go," the golden one said, "their clean-up crews will be here soon." The three Mavericks left quickly, Vile limping slightly. When the crews got there, they began to panic when Vile's body wasn't there.

"That's not possible," Zero said when Signas relayed the news that Vile was alive, "I watched him burn myself; no way he came back from that."

"You were burnt," Lumine said with a smile on his face, "and yet here you are."

"HE WASN'T BREATHING, YOU SMUG PRICK!" Zero yelled, already angry with his attitude, grabbing Lumine and shoving him into the wall, "WANT ME TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT THAT'S LIKE?"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Signas roared, "Zero, let him down." Zero slammed Lumine against the wall a second time before letting him go, the hardest glare anyone had seen him with on his features.

"Now, whether Vile is alive or not isn't the issue here," Signas said, "the Navigators and Axl have both separately confirmed you moving faster than possible when you attacked Vile, Zero. Explain."

"I don't know," Zero said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, "how I did that. The only thing I can tell you is that it felt like time slowed down for me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bike to repair."

"We're not done yet Zero," Signas said, causing Zero to stop and give Signas a death glare.

"Unless you want me to snap Lumine's neck the next time he opens his mouth," Zero said, "I'm gone." He walked out, and Signas had to restrain himself from punching a hole in his desk.

"One word Lumine," he said, cutting off the Head Navigator, "and I will call him back in here and lock the door behind me when I leave for my coffee. Understand?" Lumine clamped his mouth shut, the anger obvious in his face, before he stalked out of the office.

"He's exactly like Omega," Signas said to himself, "maybe too much."

Zero was down in the R&D garage, tightening some bolts on the bike. He was on his back for a better view at what he was doing, out of his armour and back into his street clothes. All of a sudden, he heard footsteps.

"Zero?" it was Ciel. Zero slid out from under the bike and sat up.

"What are you doing here?" Zero asked roughly. Ciel stopped and almost took a step back.

"Lumine said you assaulted him in Signas's office," Ciel said, "I was going to ask if you managed to get a good hit in."

"I wish," Zero said, standing up, "why do you want to know? Isn't he your boss?"

"Because he doesn't like it," Ciel said, sliding her sleeve up and showing Zero large red welts on her arm from where Lumine had grabbed her earlier, "when people disagree with him."

"How many times has he done that?"

"Not enough for me to be able to report him," Ciel said, "apparently he's invaluable to the Hunters."

"I'm going to kill him," Zero said, turning to the workbench and grabbed his saber. Before he could march out of the garage, Ciel grabbed his arm.

"He's not worth the effort," she told him, "just let it go." Zero's entire body tightened. "Why do you hate him so much?" Ciel asked, "He hasn't done anything to you, really."

"He reminds me of Gate," Zero said, turning back and slamming the saber on the bench, before leaning on it and breathing heavily.

"Who's that?" Ciel asked.

"A slimy bastard I met a few years ago," Zero said, "Lumine's enough like him that it makes my blood boil just looking at him."

"What did this Gate do?" Ciel asked.

"He..." Zero stopped himself, "no, I'm not going to talk about it. That's my business."

"Fine," Ciel asked, "I was just asking because I was concerned." Without another word, Ciel turned and walked out of the bay. Once she was out of sight, Zero slammed his fist into the bench, leaving a dent in the metal. He wasn't going to have a repeat of what happened with Alia, not if he could help it.


	5. Chapter 5: Zero's Secret?

Chapter Five: Zero's Secret?

Zero was in the training room, slashing through target after target. He had since escalated to a level 12 training program, four levels beyond that he had trained at during his first session with Alpha Squad. He had preset the levels to cycle until he dropped from exhaustion or he was hit by the attacking targets. So far, he was doing pretty well; scrap metal lined the floors, with only one target left to shoot at him. He was breathing heavily, saber blazing in his hand.

It had been two weeks since Zero's first mission, and he continued to blow through all the expectations that people had of him. He was already being hailed as the next Omega, something he was unaware of. Signas had made sure that Zero wouldn't hear about the rumours circulating about him, but circulate they did, and sooner or later Zero would hear about it.

The target shot at him, almost catching him in the shoulder, before he ran up the wall at a blinding speed, back-flipping off of it and slashing through the last target of the level.

"Level twelve complete," a computerised voice said, "preparing to initiate level thirteen; holographic target."

"That's it, one target?" Zero asked, a little downtrodden despite being exhausted.

"One target of a high-ranking Maverick will be displayed via training hologram," the voice said, "searching for target..." A few seconds later, a flickering hologram appeared of a purple-armoured Maverick that Zero was unfamiliar with. All of a sudden, the room shut down and left Zero in darkness for a few seconds until the lights came back on.

"_Go get something to eat," _a male voice said, _"You're needed on patrol in the southern sector of the Old District."_

"Understood," Zero said, ignoring the fact that the voice was Lumine's. He shut off his saber and left the training room, while Lumine brought up his statistics based on the twelve levels of training he did. According to the numbers, Zero had blown his way through at least a thousand targets through the levels, without taking so much as a scratch. Lumine had to triple-check the software on the computer to make sure that there wasn't a glitch of some sort.

"That is impressive," Lumine said, copying down the numbers and leaving the room, shutting it down. He left quickly, heading to his office. Once there, he brought up Zero's statistics and began to compare them to Omega's. Everything that had been compiled on Zero was displayed on his computer screen. With a few taps, he added his projections on the Angel Phenomenon over the top of both of them. The numbers, images and other information he got was astounding. He saved the file, transferred it to his portable terminal and left his office, heading to Signas's. He needed to know this; if Lumine didn't tell him, his offside dealings could be exposed.

"Are you certain?" Signas asked the Head Navigator, sitting behind his desk.

"Without a doubt, sir," Lumine said, "I've ran the numbers multiple times; if left unrefined, Zero's power could surpass that of Omega's. I know it doesn't seem possible," he added as Signas stood and faced the window, looking out at the day-time paradise that was Abel City Centre, already recovered from the battle with Vile, "but if that's true, that explains why the Mavericks are after him."

"Does it?" Signas asked, still facing the window, "Because that implies they knew this before we did. And that is impossible, is it not Lumine?"

Lumine said nothing; it was clear that Signas suspected him of trafficking information, but he wouldn't outright state it. Lumine had been careful to cover his tracks in that regard.

"So, another example of the Angel Phenomenon," Signas mused, "that explains the speed and red light."

"Sir, I don't think it's a wise idea to send Zero to patrol on his own," Lumine said carefully, "if the Mavericks are after him, then he would be vulnerable without backup of some sort."

"Are we talking about the same Zero?" Signas said, "You're dismissed Lumine, and I order you to remain silent on this matter. I don't want Zero or any others clued in about this." Signas then sat back at his desk and Lumine left, uncertain as to what to do next.

The roar of the motorcycle was the only sound as Zero rode through the rubble that was the southern part of Abel City. It was here that the Eve War began, and the place that saw the heaviest fighting.

"Ciel," he said, activating the com in his helmet, "this is Zero, nothing at Sector 28-2, moving on to 29-2."

"_Alright Zero," _Ciel's voice replied, _"keep your eyes peeled; there were definite reports of Mavericks in the area, and you only have two sectors left to search." _

"Understood," Zero said flatly, turning down a side street to advance to the next sector. As he did, he was aware of a sudden buzzing noise. He stopped his bike and looked around; apart from his body and the bike, there wasn't anything mechanical in the area that was working.

"Ciel, can you do a quick scan for power usage?" Zero asked as he turned off the engine and left the bike in the street, walking from building to building, searching for the source of the buzzing noise.

"_Hold on," _came the reply, and a few seconds later, _"whoa, that's not right."_

"What is it?"

"_There's a massive generator about two hundred metres to your right. At least, I think it's a generator; the power usage is enormous. If you can, shut whatever it is down. It might be contributing to the energy crisis."_

"Understood; Zero out." Zero said, walking carefully through the streets towards the buzzing noise. The quiet was deafening; his footsteps echoed painfully loudly as he walked. He got to the building where the buzzing grew so loud he almost had to cover his ears. He found a window and peered in.

Inside was a massive bank of computer towers, lights flickering madly. There, at the centre of the room was a computer terminal, with a man sitting crouched over it, clad in a white lab coat and purple armour.

"This is Zero," he whispered, "I've found the source of the power; a massive computer lab. One possible Maverick...wait, hold on," Zero saw some more people standing around, guns at their sides. "Scratch that," he said, "that's one definite Maverick with five guards; Orders?"

"_Move in and shut them down. Bring the leader in for questioning if you can."_

"Understood," Zero said, activating his Buster, the cannon folding out and encasing his left hand. Crouched, he moved towards the front door, before knocking for theatrics.

Inside, the Maverick was tapping away, running a series of equations that required his utmost attention. He modified them where needed, trying to finish the compound he was trying to make. The soldiers he had brought with him were all rookies and bored, but he didn't expect any trouble, otherwise he'd have Vile with him.

KNOCK, KNOCK

The Maverick looked up and with a head gesture ordered the guards to check what it was. He needed to finish these equations. Next thing he knew, an explosion tore the door apart and killed two of the guards. Then a green light lit up the room and the other three guards were finished off by a Hunter in red armour. It took the Maverick a moment to recognise who it was. When he did, he quickly saved the equations to the Maverick servers and then sent it away.

"Under authority of the Maverick Hunters," Zero said, pointing his still active Buster at the Maverick, who had quickly ducked his face down, "you're under arrest. Get up."

The Maverick stood, before looking up. "Hello Zero," he said, "It's been a while."

"You," Zero said, disbelief colouring his voice, "you're a Maverick?"

"Yes, I know what it looks like," he said, "and if you'll stay calm, I can explain it to you."

"You're one of them?" Zero asked, ignoring the comment, "after what they did to Alia? Wait..." Zero suddenly clicked, "you put them up to it, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU!"

"Zero..." he said, gesturing at him with his hand, "just calm down. I have a proposition for you."

"BURN," Zero yelled, deactivating the Buster and grabbing the saber with both hands, "IN HELL, GATE!" he lunged forward and stabbed. Gate dodged, running for the door. Zero pursued him into the streets, running as fast as he could. Hatred filled his body like a poison, consuming Zero and leaving only a rage driven animal in his place. Red coloured his vision and time slowed down; his body began to glow with red light, sparks of electricity coming off of him. He outran Gate, blocked his path and punching him in the face and sending Gate flying backwards.

With a roar, Zero advanced on Gate, kicking him around and landing punch after punch. Gate tried to run, pulling a gun and unloading it into the glowing Hunter. The bullets never hit their target; they hit something in the air in front of Zero and fell to the ground. Zero's normally green eyes had begun to glow red as well; soon, the glow consumed the whole of his eyes. His hair whipped around like it was being blown by an unnatural wind. His saber changed from the solid energy into a flaming weapon, much like it was before he fixed it, but more refined than that. The energy grew brighter and stronger, until it was almost a fully-fledged aura.

"Oh no," Gate said through a mouthful of broken teeth, "a full manifestation." Gate began to back up slowly, and Zero advanced like a creature stalking its prey. No, this shell of rage couldn't be identified as Zero in any way, except in appearance. Another roar sounded from its lips, a sound that couldn't be described as human. Gate continued to back up, and the monster raised its arm, the green flames of its weapon ready to cleave through his body.

"_STOP IT, ZERO!"_

The yell broke through the rage, and as Gate ran the energy dissipated. The saber and Zero's eyes returned to normal. As he watched Gate, he tried to pursue, but there was a sudden pain that shot through his head and he collapsed in a heap, his saber deactivating and rolling away.

"Damn you Gate," he spat through the pain, before getting up and wandering drunkenly, battling the pain of his headache. He grabbed his saber and moved to his bike. He was aware that Ciel was talking to him, but he turned off the com in his helmet. He got onto the bike, waited for the headache to subside, then started the engine and rode off, heading out of Abel City and into the countryside.

"Where the HELL has he gone?" Signas asked, barely keeping his temper in check. All of Alpha Squad, minus the still AWOL Zero, was assembled in the commander's office. The Navigators were sheepish, Axl and X were standing at attention and Lumine and Iris simply didn't answer.

"He's gone into the rural zone," Ciel said, taking the initiative, "Based on the tracker embedded in his armour, he's at the site of a massive explosion from the Eve War."

"Can you contact him yet?" Signas asked, doing his absolute best to remain calm.

"No sir," Ciel said, "he hasn't turned on his com yet, and I don't think he will."

"Right," Signas said, turning to the window, "I want everyone apart from Ciel out of here, NOW!" The rest of the squad, including the normally calm Lumine, practically ran out of the room.

"Sir," Ciel began, but Signas cut her off. He turned and sat down at his desk, linking his fingers and resting his elbows on the desk. He sighed deeply, composing himself.

"Ciel, I've seen the recordings," he said, "Your voice was the only thing that got through the rage that consumed Zero. I want you to go to wherever he is and get him to come back."

Ciel didn't say anything. Internally, her brain was reeling. She couldn't deny that there was something that drew her to Zero. But today was the first inkling that there was a connection between them at all; all of them had been shouting at Zero to stop, except her. Until he brought his arm up, and on instinct she shouted out into the com. Then he had stopped; out of all the voices yelling at him, hers was the one he had noticed.

"Sir, I don't know if going to get him is a good idea," she stated, doing her best to conceal the thoughts that raged inside her skull.

"I don't want the Mavericks to get him," Signas said, "as I explained to you when I gave you your assignment. Go, get Zero back. That's an order." Ciel wanted to argue; she didn't want these feelings to grow any stronger. More to the point, she didn't want the pain she knew would come if these feelings weren't reciprocated. But, Ciel never disobeyed direct orders from Signas, so she inclined her head after a moment, then left.

"Lumine," Signas called as the door opened, "A word."Lumine entered again, avoiding Signas's eyes. Signas studied him for a moment, before asking, "Was what we saw a full display of the Angel Phenomenon?"

"No, it wasn't," Lumine said, "The Angel Phenomenon is triggered through strong positive emotions, not negative ones like anger. I think we saw a reversal of the Angel Phenomenon, triggered through the same basic emotional patterns. I'll have to run some projections on how powerful it could become, but if it is like the Angel Phenomenon, then Zero could very well have destroyed us all if Ciel hadn't have gotten through to him."

"Well, what would you dub this display?" Signas asked, "And was it a full display of power?"

"If I had to name it now," Lumine said, "I would call it the Nightmare Phenomenon, and if my theories are proved correct by the projections, then what we saw was only a fraction of the power that he could unleash."

Zero, as Ciel had predicted, was sitting on the edge of a large crater left behind from the Eve War. It had punched through an old diamond mine, so that in the evening sunset, the ground glittered with fragments of the left behind stones.

"I'm sorry, Alia," he said to the air, "I couldn't kill him." When Zero thought about why he had stopped, what had stopped the endless rage consume him, he got angrier. But her voice kept echoing inside his head. He could see her when he closed his eyes, and he wanted to scream at the heavens _why?_ Why was he feeling like this, even though he couldn't forget Alia? More importantly, why didn't it feel wrong?

He heard the whirring of the engine long before the cruiser drove up behind him. He heard the crunch as someone approached him. But Ciel sitting down next to him wasn't what he expected. He didn't look at her, and she didn't look at him. Both Hunter and Navigator looked out over the massive crater, watching the sun sink below the horizon.

"You know," Ciel said, breaking the silence, "I've never seen a sunset before tonight."

"I used to watch them all the time," Zero replied, "back where I used to live, it was easy."

"I can imagine," Ciel said, tucking her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. "Is that why you came here?"

"No," Zero said, "this is where I first met..." He stopped, conflicting emotions raging inside him. In that instant, he decided to open up a little. "This is where I met Alia, my old girlfriend. She was with her boyfriend at the time, and they got into an argument." Ciel looked at him and hung off of every word. "It got violent. I just happened to be walking by; my old town's just over that hill," Ciel followed the finger Zero used to point at a distant hill, "so I got into a fight with him."

"Gate," Ciel said, realising why Zero went into such a hate-filled frenzy before.

"Yeah, Gate," Zero said, "I hurt him badly enough that he ran off. I made sure Alia was okay, and...I don't really know how it all happened. Then, not even three years ago now, she was sitting in my house. My parents and sister had gone out for the night, I had just stepped out for a moment, and the next thing I know the house is on fire. I tried to get in to help her, but I couldn't." Tears formed in Zero's eyes; tears of pain and anger. He stopped talking, trying to fight them, as he had so many times before. He slammed his fist against the ground, angry he was getting emotional like this. Ciel, following no logic for once, but her own emotions, moved closer and laid a hand on his and tried to comfort him. He instinctively tried to jerk it away, but Ciel latched onto it.

"Don't," she said, and Zero looked at her, almost pleading with his eyes for her to let him go. But she didn't, and Zero gave up fighting these new feelings. He tightened his fingers around hers and moved closer. She moved as well, and soon their faces were only inches away. He ran a finger down her cheek, before resting it on her chin and pulling her face up. Their lips only touched for a brief second, but Zero just couldn't take it. He let go and stood up, moving away. Ciel, not used at all to these emotions, just got up and followed him. Running only on instinct, she went up to Zero, who was leaning on the bonnet of the cruiser Ciel had driven. She wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I can't, Ciel," he said, voice heavy, "I just can't do this." Ciel didn't say anything, and Zero, still trying to fight against what he couldn't, tried to move away again.

"I'm not letting go," Ciel said, forcing Zero to twist in her arms. She leant up and kissed him again, and this time he didn't pull away. He kissed her back, his arms moving to her back, holding her in place. As the sun finished setting and darkness fell over the two, they broke apart, and by unspoken consent, left the cruiser behind and got onto the bike, heading back to Abel City, Ciel tightly latched to Zero. Now that she had acted, all the emotions were returning to the background of her fast-running brain. But they still remained, and she liked that.

Alone in his room, after receiving the lecture from Signas and a demand to create a profile on Gate, one of the high-ranking Mavericks they had no information on, Zero reflected on what had happened by the crater. He also got blamed for leaving the cruiser behind, which was being retrieved now. He put two fingers to his lips and remembered the pressure from Ciel's lips. Again, he was consumed with doubt as to whether he was doing the right thing. He couldn't forget Alia, but at the same time these new feelings seemed as strong as what he had felt for her, perhaps stronger. Maybe it would all make sense in the morning; Zero lay down on the bed, leaving his personal terminal on his desk. As he closed his eyes, he could swear that the pressure on his lips was still there.

Across the hall, Ciel was having a similar reaction. She had a warm feeling in her stomach, and it made her feel content. Her terminal buzzed, and she checked it; it was an email from Palette. She clicked it open and read;

SHOULD'VE REMEMBERED ABOUT THE CRUISER SECURITY CAMS

EVERYONE IN THE SQUAD ROOM SAW

CONGRATULATIONS

YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN FOR IT TOMORROW

PALETTE

Ciel groaned; Zero wasn't going to like this. She shut her terminal down and went to bed, wondering what tomorrow was going to be like, now everything had changed.

Lumine and Iris were at Gate's little computer terminal, copying down all the data stored on the server before shutting them down, with X keeping guard.

"This is amazing," Lumine said, "These equations are astoundingly difficult to read."

"Can we get anything useful from them?" X asked, looking at Iris.

"From what I can tell," she said, "they seem to be for a chemical compound of some kind. What it's going to be used for, I can't tell. I'm going to have to run some tests, see if I can make it."

Lumine was frowning. "This can't be right," he said, writing his own equation down, "these are my equations for the Angel Phenomenon. But they've been altered to suit this compound."

X was confused. "The Angel-what now?" he asked, looking between Iris and Lumine. Lumine sighed; trust Hunters not to read his work.

"I released a thesis on it three years ago, when I began to apply my work to the Reconstruction Program," Lumine explained, "it's a release of the body's limiters triggered through emotional stress."

"X, you know how a normal human can't do half of what you can do, in terms of strength and agility, right?" Iris said, seeing that Lumine had lost him.

"Yeah," X said.

"That's because the mind has limits on the muscles, so they don't destroy themselves," Iris said, "this phenomenon Lumine wrote about is a combination of a lack of those limits and a powerful emotion."

"Right," X said, "so how did Mavericks get a hold of it?"

"I only released it to Hunters," Lumine said, "one of them must've copied it down and given it to this Gate person."

"So," X said, hoping he had gotten this right, "the Mavericks have taken your thesis equations and applied it to this compound thing?"

"That's right," Iris said, finishing the copying of the last file, "and we're done here. I'm wiping these and shutting them down." She tapped a few keys and erased all the files on the hard-drives. Now, the only copy of it, or so they thought, was on their own servers.

Inside Maverick Headquarters, Gate was reviewing his copy of the equations, synthesising the compound. A purple liquid filled several phials, and his commander, the golden Maverick that had accompanied him to resurrect Vile, watched with vested interest.

"Are you sure this compound will be enough?" he asked Gate, who nodded.

"Yes, sir," he said, "this compound, thanks to the equations provided by our contact, should counter the effects of the Angel Phenomenon and convert Zero easily. Minimal pain will be inflicted."

"Are you a hundred percent certain that this compound will work?" the commander asked, "you know the price of failure. We need Zero if our operations are to succeed."

"I know," Gate said, "but I can't be sure; that power he displayed was nothing like the thesis."

"It won't matter," he said, "I can beat him."

"I'm sure you can," Gate said, "when's the attack?"

"In three days time," he said, "our other contact will make sure we destroy the Hunter troops, Zero will be one of us, and this ridiculous war shall end."

"I hope so, seeing as it was your defection that was to turn the tide of the war."


	6. Chapter 6: Siege of Abel City

Chapter Six: Siege of Abel City

_Zero was running as fast as he could. He had heard the explosion, and feared the worst. When he got home, that fear was realised. His childhood home was up in flames, and he didn't think; he just ran at the front door and knocked it in. He couldn't see through the thick smoke or bright flames, but he searched any way. She had to have gotten out. She couldn't be trapped in these flames. Then he heard the screaming..._

"NO," Zero yelled out, bolting awake, breathing heavily and covered with sweat. He ran a hand over his face, before climbing out of bed and stumbling into the little cubicle of a bathroom joined to his bedroom. He went to the sink and began running water, splashing his face and washing away the heat of the flames on his skin. His haunted face stared back at him from the mirror.

"Why now?" he asked himself, his breathing slowing down to a more normal level, "Why are you starting up again now?" The answer to that question knocked at his door.

"Zero, are you in there?" Ciel asked loudly, the door to his room opening. She didn't step inside, just in case. Zero quickly dried his face with a towel before answering, exiting the bathroom.

"Yeah," he said, trying a smile, "I'm here." Ciel walked up and hugged him, and he returned the gesture, doing his best not to feel guilt with the action.

"You're heart's beating really fast," Ciel said, her head on his chest, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Zero said, "same as always." Ciel looked up at him, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Zero," she said carefully, "please don't lie to me. Something's wrong, I can see it in your eyes."

"Just a nightmare," Zero said, putting a hand underneath Ciel's chin, "that's all. There's nothing to worry about." Ciel still gave him the look, so he shrugged and said, "What else do you want me to say?"

Ciel looked at him for a little bit longer, and then laid her head on his chest again. "It doesn't matter," she said, "what really matters is you're not running away from me."

"Even if I did," Zero said, letting his lips brush Ciel's hair, "you'd just come after me."

Ciel smiled, closing her eyes in contentment. "Oh," she said suddenly, remembering Palette's email from last night, "you're going to hate me for this."

"What happened?" Zero asked, slightly concerned that she'd say he'd hate her.

"Um," Ciel wondered how best to approach this, "I had forgotten about the cruiser security camera."

Zero was confused. "So what?" he asked. Ciel gave him another look and he quickly caught on. "Oh, so everyone saw what happened?"

"Only our squad," Ciel said, "but I wouldn't put it past Palette to have spread it around by now."

"Right," Zero said, extricating himself from her grip, despite her look of protest, "don't panic," he told her, "I'm just going to go up to the gym and work out for a bit, okay?"

"Do you promise?" Ciel asked. Zero nodded, and she leant up and kissed his cheek. "I'll see if I can keep Palette from telling everybody she meets," she said, "not that a lot of people will care, but I'm sure you don't want it public knowledge."

"You know me pretty well, don't you?" Zero asked.

"Better than you thought I did," Ciel said, leaving the room with a wave. Zero waved back, but once she was out of sight and the door closed, he slammed a fist into the nearest wall.

"Stop torturing me," he growled at his subconscious. He quickly changed before heading up a few levels to the gym, where he proceeded to beat the crap out of the nearest punching bag, a scowl on his face as he tried to sort through his thoughts.

"Oh, come on!" Palette yelled exasperatedly at Ciel, who was doing her best to write up her report on the events of the previous day. "You're supposed to gossip about this, for crying out loud! Layer, tell her!"

"If she doesn't want to talk about it," Layer said, "she doesn't have to. Now can you please shut up about it and do some work?"

"Why'd I have to be stuck with the Gloomy Squad?" Palette pouted, before typing up her own report on various other dealings Alpha Squad had had.

"Hey girls," Axl's voice sounded from the door to the Alpha Squad control room, "what's up?"

"Ciel won't talk about Zero!" Palette complained, hoping Axl would side with her. Ciel groaned and Layer, though the action was concealed by her fringe, rolled her eyes.

"So?" was Axl's remark. "It's not that big a deal."

"But..." Palette was so sure that Axl would agree with her. She got up and all but pelted past him, tears forming in her eyes.

"What did I do?" Axl asked as the other Navigators looked at him.

"You really are clueless, aren't you?" Ciel asked, before resuming her work.

"Clueless?" Axl asked, "Clueless about what?"

"Ciel isn't the only one with a thing for a Hunter," was Layer's remark, before focusing on her own work. Axl just stood there, stunned, and soon the Navigators had to leave to deal with other duties, leaving him all alone.

"How the hell did I miss _that?_" he asked himself, before leaving and attempting to track down Palette.

Zero was still punching away on the bag in the gym when X turned up.

"Hey," he said, leaning on the wall and watching Zero work.

"Hey," grunted Zero, eyes not leaving his target. "What's up?"

"Well, Iris is pissed because she can't work out what Gate's up to," X said, "Lumine's pissed because the Mavericks stole one of his equations. According to Layer, Palette's upset with Axl and Signas is pissed with Elpizo because...well, because it's Elpizo."

"Who's Elpizo?" Zero asked, still punching away on the bag. His hands weren't even hurting yet; he wanted to see how far he could push this reconstructed body of his.

"Oh, you haven't met him yet," X said, "he's commander of the black-ops unit and Vice-Commander of the Hunters as a whole."

When Zero didn't respond, X sighed. "Hey, uh, don't take this personally or anything, but I don't think whatever you've got locked away in your skull is healthy. Before you ask," X cut off the remark he knew Zero was going to make, "Ciel said you had a nightmare last night."

"My dreams are for everyone now?" Zero snapped, delivering a punch hard enough to knock the punching bag off of its chain and into the wall.

"Okay," X said, not bothering to hold his tongue, "look, I've been here a long time. Ciel hasn't acted like this before, not since she got here. Whatever is eating at you; just let it go and be happy, for god's sake."

"Let me ask you a question, X," Zero said, rounding on his fellow Hunter, "if you lost Iris, and you could've done something about it, how would you feel?"

"I don't-" X started, but Zero cut him off.

"When you can look me in the eye and tell me what it feels like to lose someone that close to you," he said, "is the day you can tell me to let it go."

Before any more serious discussion could happen, the door opened and Axl ran inside, breathless and afraid.

"Please, for the love of god," he said to his squad-mates, "hide me!"

Zero and X looked at each other, earlier drama forgotten, and asked at the same time, "From what?"

"Palette," he said, "I apologised for hurting her feelings and she went quiet. Next thing I know, she's all over me! You've gotta hide me until she calms down."

There was a knock on the door, and Axl ran to the nearest locker, opening it and hiding inside. X and Zero looked at him, until the door opened and Palette bounded in, looking around.

"Hey guys," she said, looking at them with big eyes, "do you know where Axl is?" Zero and X pointed in unison at the locker that he had himself in. Palette thanked him and as she went over there, Zero and X quickly left and locked the door behind them.

"Can you set this to unlock after a certain time?" X asked Zero.

"Give me a second," Zero said, tapping away on the keypad for a few seconds. "There we go," he said, "it won't open for about half an hour." X laughed.

"Well, it's about time those two got together anyway," X said, "Palette's been after him for god knows how long." Both Hunters laughed, and walked off as Axl began to bang on the door for help.

It was two days after that; Maverick attacks had ground to a halt. Hunter HQ had managed, in those two days, to catch up on most of the work it was behind on, and had become much more efficient. Zero was wandering the corridors, searching for something interesting, when Axl ran past, yelling. Zero stopped and watched as Palette ran after him, tackling him to the ground.

"Seriously, Palette," Axl said, struggling to get up, "you need to stop with the chasing thing!"

Zero shook his head and kept walking, passing by people who began to whisper. He knew what they were saying about him. He was the new Omega, a hero of the people; Zero, the Maverick's Bane. They didn't know what it was like, to be out there and being a perfect killer.

His communicator beeped, and he answered it. "Hello?"

"_Hey," _it was Ciel, _"Where are you?" _

"I forget what floor," Zero said, "what's up?"

"_Iris wants you down in Medical," _she said, _"I think she wants to run some tests on your reconstructions. I'll meet you down there, okay?"_

"Only if you're not busy," Zero said, "I don't want Signas breathing down my neck." Ciel laughed before hanging up, leaving Zero to shake his head in amazement that they both haven't been fired yet. He pocketed the communicator and headed down to Medical, for whatever torture Iris wanted to put him through this time.

"Would you mind explaining that last part to me again?" Zero asked the medical officer, who had strapped him into the large multi-scan machine. Ciel was watching a little apprehensively as Iris set to work.

"I'm running a scan for energy anomalies," Iris explained for the third time that day, "The energy that you can tap into is both insanely powerful and potentially deadly. So I need to make sure your RP signature is still stable."

Zero still had no real idea what was going on, but he kept his mouth shut this time and let Iris run her scans. Outside the room with the multi-scan, Iris and Ciel were watching the display.

"Holy crap," Iris said as the scan finished. The energy, instead of wavy like before, was jagged and pulsating. She quickly tapped a few keys and brought up Omega's signature, overlapping the two. Zero's signature easily dominated Omega's, leaving both girls wide-eyed.

"That's not possible," Iris said, checking her systems for anomalies. There weren't any. Before Iris could relate her findings to the Hunter, a massive alarm ripped through the medical bay, startling everyone.

"What the hell was that?" Zero yelled, still strapped to the table. Iris hit a button and the restraints released, letting Zero drop to the ground and exit the scanning room.

"That was a general alarm," Ciel said, grabbing Zero's hand and leading him out the medical bay, Iris hot on their heels. "It means the Mavericks are attacking in force."

"That explains why they've been quiet," Zero said grimly, tightening his grip on Ciel's hand.

"You need to get suited up," she said, letting go of his hand, "I'll be in the Main Coordination Room; head down that way to the main assembly room and find X."

"This is where the fun begins," Zero said, kissing Ciel on the cheek before running to where he kept his armour. Ciel and Iris headed down into the Coordination Room; a massive blue room with computers touching the ceiling. Every Navigator was there, most sitting in floating circles, already coordinating their forces. Ciel joined Palette and Layer on the ground floor computers, firing hers up and putting on her headset.

"Took you long enough," Layer remarked, "we need to help coordinate the main force. Alpha Squad isn't being deployed."

"What? Why?" Ciel asked, confused as she tapped in her passcode.

"Elpizo's orders," Layer said, tapping away, "he's been put in charge of the operation."

Ciel groaned; the last time Elpizo was in charge of an operation, they had lost so much ground it took them a year to get it back.

When Zero arrived in the main assembly room, he was given a beeline straight to the main podium, where Signas, X, Axl and someone he didn't recognise; a blonde haired woman in pinkish armour.

'Hold on,' Zero thought as he approached, 'THAT'S A GUY!' And so it was; why a guy was dressed in pink armour was beyond Zero, so he just jumped up onto the podium and took his place beside X.

"What luck, our saviour is here," the blonde woman-man said, "now we can begin."

"I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say that's Elpizo," Zero said under his breath to X.

"You'd stab right," X replied equally quietly, "just make sure to get him between the eyes."

"Now," Elpizo said, either not hearing or ignoring the comments, "the attack is as follows; the 6th Marine will cut off the Maverick advance," as he spoke a massive screen descended from the ceiling, lighting up with an overhead view of Abel City, "here." The screen zoomed in to a small section of the city, with red dots to signify Mavericks, and various other coloured dots to represent the Hunters. "We have reports that a new Maverick commander is leading them, one we haven't encountered before. The 17th Elite will approach from the rear, with the other units coming in through the sides here." Elpizo finished his description, preparing to order them to move out.

"What about us?" Zero asked, distracting him.

"Alpha Squad is remaining on standby," Elpizo said, looking at him, "in case some break through the lines."

"Well that's a guarantee," Zero said, moving to the centre of the podium where Elpizo was standing, "are you on drugs, or are you just retarded?"

"How dare you talk to me like that?"

"You're about to get everyone killed," Zero said, "You come at them from all sides, there's nothing stopping them from bursting through those side alleys and cornering the 6th and the 17th; the other squads have no room to manoeuvre."

"What do you propose, Zero?" Signas said, superseding Elpizo's complaints. Zero took a moment to study the layout of the battlefield.

"Keep the 6th where they are," Zero said, "but put the 32nd back behind the 6th in case the Mavericks break through. Have the black-ops unit and the 17th along the rooftops of those alleyways and pick off any Mavericks that try to force their way around. Then have us, meaning Alpha Squad, come at the centre of the Maverick force and blow a huge chunk through their offensive line."

"And how will you get to the centre; underground tunnels?" Elpizo asked snappishly.

"No," Zero said, ignoring the tone, "aerial drop. Douglas has that experimental drop ship parked right outside; all it needs is fuel and we're good to go."

"What about us?" A new voice sounded from the entrance, "no way are you going to blow a hole big enough to make a difference with only three guys." Everyone turned and watched the elite Guardian Squad approach the podium. The hulking red form of Fighting Fefnir, next to the petite blue body of Fairy Leviathan, along with the black and purple armoured body of Hidden Phantom, and the commander of the squad and clad in green armour, Sage Harpuia, jumped up onto the podium. "Sorry we're late; we just got back from our assignment when we got the general alert. Anyway, that drop ship got room to fit four more?" Harpuia asked.

"Should do," Zero said, shaking hands with Harpuia.

"Oh, congrats on the promotion by the way," Harpuia said. Zero was confused.

"What promotion?" he asked, and Signas cleared his throat.

"Zero," he said in his most official, and terrifying voice, "in light of your recent accomplishments in the field, as well as your keen tactical sense, I have seen fit to promote you to leader of Alpha Squad, as well as elevate your current Hunter rank to S-A." Everyone in the room, apart from those on the podium, gasped. S-A Rank was the highest rank the Hunters had to offer; it allowed full access to everything, as well as making Zero the full equivalent of a Maverick commander; no one had ever been accorded that honour, not in the entirety of the Hunter's history. "X?"

X nodded at the commander and pulled off a plate on his blue armour that identified him as commander of a squadron, offering it to Zero. Zero didn't move; he wasn't a leader. Everyone was waiting for him to take it, and X got impatient with his internal dithering.

"Would you just take the damn thing already?" X asked, slapping it onto Zero's shoulder. The plate clicked into place and X started clapping. The rest of the Hunters followed suit, and Zero almost glowed red with embarrassment.

"Right, Squad Commander Zero," Signas said, "I'm placing you in charge of the ground forces. The Navigators will coordinate our troops based on this information. Elpizo, don't start. MOVE OUT!" The Hunters scrambled out of the room, with the two main squads going towards the drop ship.

The drop ship, a thick bodied carrier akin to a bumblebee, with massive turbines keeping it above the skyline, flew towards the site of the battle. The Hunters prepped their gear; Fefnir held massive cannons that doubled as battering rams, Harpuia used smaller beam sabers than Zero's own, Phantom was armed with a beam shuriken and Leviathan held a long spear that doubled as a precision Buster. Axl made sure his pistols were loaded, and X checked his Busters were fully charged, while Zero fine-tuned his saber and rifle.

"_Everyone is in position, Zero," _Ciel said, _"Should we give the order?"_

"Yeah, give the order to attack," Zero said, "The Mavericks should be in position by now. We're only a few minutes away from the drop zone."

"_Zero, can you promise me something?"_

"What?" Zero was concerned, "what's wrong?"

"_Don't do anything overly stupid. Please?"_

"I promise I won't do anything overly stupid," Zero said, almost flatly, "I'm only jumping over a thousand metres to the ground, nothing stupid about that."

"_The attack's begun," _Ciel switched into Navigator mode, _"you're almost above the battlefield."_ True to her word, Zero began to hear gunfire and explosions, faint through the roar of the turbines. The side opened, and air flooded into the compartment.

"This is gonna rock!" Harpuia said, opening his wings so that they were ready to guide him down.

"We drop in sequence!" Zero yelled over the air, "X, Fefnir, Leviathan, you go first, Axl and Phantom next, then Harpuia. I'll drop down last." They nodded, understanding, before they began to drop out of the ship and into the air. Zero, after a moment, dropped after them, whooping loudly. He could see the exchange of plasma and bullets between the Hunters and Mavericks. The others moved into a hexagonal formation; Fefnir and Leviathan took the top, X and Axl took the points on either side and Harpuia and Phantom at the bottom. Zero streamlined his body to take the central point.

"What's next?" X yelled at his new squad leader. Zero thought for a moment.

"Everyone with Buster weapons, charge them up," he yelled out, "We'll need to literally blow a hole in the centre of them." Fefnir, X, Leviathan and Zero charged the energy weapons, pointing them down at the carnage below. "OPEN FIRE!" The energy shot out, six long streams of plasma that could have been from space, and hit the dead centre of the Maverick forces. The massive explosion ripped apart the ground as well as sending Mavericks flying.

Zero drew his saber, the green energy cutting through the dim light of the setting sun. The dull red light showed the blood being shed tonight, and in the heat of the moment, as the seven Hunters finally hit the ground and began their fight, Zero wore a warrior's smirk. Zero dashed out and slashed through Mavericks, many of which couldn't turn to face him in any way. His blade swinging signalled the death of another Maverick, and cheers from the Hunter crowd. X and Axl stood stationary, blowing holes in Mavericks and covering each other. Fefnir was roaring with battle fury; he preferred to punch Mavericks dead rather than slice through them with his plasma cannons. Harpuia, Phantom and Leviathan were slashing through Mavericks as well; Harpuia's swords kept Leviathan and Phantom safe. Leviathan's spear stabbed and knocked Mavericks to the ground, while Phantom's shuriken spun madly through the ranks. The skills of these seven Hunters, combined with the tactics of the 6th Marine, easily destroyed the ranks of the Mavericks.

"That was insane!" X yelled as they recovered; no more work left for them. That's when the screaming started; the seven Hunters turned and saw a hulking figure clad in golden armour walking through the ranks of the 6th Marine, a large beam claymore cutting through and killing most of them.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," the figure said as it deactivated its claymore and approached the Hunters, its voice mechanical and cold, "and how have you all been?"

"What?" Harpuia asked, drawing his beam sabers. The figure shook its head.

"Harpuia, you should remember," it said, cracking its neck, "you never could beat me in a fight." Shock covered everyone's features, except for Zero, who was confused.

"No, not possible," Fefnir said, readying his cannons, "you're supposed to be dead."

"Yet here I stand," the golden figure said, spreading his arms wide, "good to see you all."

"Who the hell are you?" Zero asked, drawing attention from the Guardians.

"Ah, Zero," the figure said, "My replacement. How have the Hunters treated you?"

"Replacement," Zero said under his breath, "you're Omega?"

"In the flesh," Omega said, "I must say, I'm looking forward to seeing how you fight, Zero."

The seven Hunters were ready to fight, Zero the most nervous; he had heard about Omega's accomplishments, and he wasn't confident that he could beat him. Nonetheless, he readied his saber, and prepared for what would be the hardest fight of his life.


	7. Chapter 7: Omega

Chapter 7: Omega

"Oh, please," Omega said, facing the seven Hunters, "did you really think this would be so easy?" He raised a golden hand and clicked. In that instant, the buildings around them exploded and more Mavericks came out, levelling guns at the Hunters. The 6th, as well as Alpha and Guardian Squad, were totally surrounded.

"You see," Omega told the surprised Hunters, "you were supposed to follow Elpizo's plan. But none of us expected Zero to take command like that. We'll have to watch out for that when you come to our side." The last comment was directed to the red-clad Hunter.

"That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Zero asked, "Destroying my shop so I would be reconstructed; you want me as a Maverick?"

"Not just a Maverick," Omega said (one could almost hear the smile in his voice), "one of Sigma's inner circle."

"Who's Sigma?" Zero asked, doing his best to buy time; by now the 32nd should be in position and ready to assist them.

"You'll see," Omega said, holding out a hand, "now, come along Zero, and we can avoid the bloodshed."

"YOU COME THROUGH US FIRST!" Harpuia yelled, charging the fallen Hunter. Before Zero could stop him, Harpuia was slashing at Omega's neck. Quick as a flash, Omega turned and caught Harpuia's arm, turning his wrist around and stabbing him in the gut. Yanking the saber out of him, Omega finished the attack by cutting off Harpuia's arms from the elbows down. Harpuia fell to the ground, blood pouring out of his limbs for a second, until safeguards kicked in and blocked the blood flow. Omega deactivated the saber and tossed it to where Harpuia was groaning in pain.

"Wait!" Zero said, stopping the other Hunters from attacking, "he wants me, not the rest of you. I'll keep him distracted, and you can kill these guys and get Harpuia out of here." Zero advanced slowly to Omega, who was watching them with a tilted head. "NOW," Zero yelled, charging and slashing at Omega. Omega lashed out and grabbed Zero by the throat, holding him there for a brief second before tossing him up into the air.

"I should've known," Omega said, jumping into the air and kicking Zero across to the roof of a nearby building, "you never did do anything the easy way." Glowing with a faint purple light, Omega dashed in the air, images following him as he descended to the building like a feather, with Zero groaning as he stood up to face him. Below them, the battle resumed, with the 32nd Special Unit arriving like the cavalry to lend support to the 6th and the five squad members who had to fight to get to Harpuia.

Zero drew his saber a second time, with Omega drawing his purple beam claymore; the massive weapon made Zero's look like an energised toothpick. Omega made the first move this time, striking out with the claymore. He had more agility that could be believed with that heavy armour, but the faint purple glow remained. Zero, blocking the slash, was again knocked away and onto the roof of another building. Omega was in front of him and punching him in the gut before he could recover. Zero's saber dropped to the ground and deactivated, leaving Zero defenceless as Omega pummelled him with one-handed punches. As Zero collapsed, breathing heavily, Omega prepared to stab him through the gut.

"Good thing you've been reconstructed," Omega said, "or this could've ended badly." But as he stabbed, time slowed down for Zero. He twisted and made to grab the claymore, even though it should cleave through him like a knife through butter. Zero's hands, now glowing with red light, caught the energy and the two grappled for dominance.

"Not possible," Omega said, exerting all his strength to break through Zero's grip. But in those few seconds, Zero had the advantage.

"I'm getting bored of how often people say that around me," Zero said, before heaving and knocking Omega off his feet and deactivating the claymore. He rolled and grabbed his own saber, and made to cut through Omega, who managed to grab his claymore and block the slash. Omega kicked and Zero sailed off the edge of the building, but he flipped in the air and used his saber to slow his descent, cutting into the side of the building.

In the Main Coordination Room, Lumine watched this with vested interest. He had worked with both of these Hunters, and as he watched them clash, he couldn't help but suppress a grin.

"Now we'll finally see," Lumine said, "which of you is the best." Lumine's thesis could finally be proved. But there was a lagging doubt in his mind; would he see Zero claim the wings of an angel, or submit to his anger and unleash a nightmare?

Omega and Zero continued to duel on the ground, but the word 'duel' implies that the battle was two-sided. Even with the red energy, Zero was still losing. Omega was just too fast, too strong, and he just didn't care if Zero was conscious or not when he took him to Sigma.

"This is ridiculous," Zero said, ducking into an alleyway where Omega couldn't follow, at least until he tore the building apart, "Ciel, any ideas?"

"_Run and hide?" _Ciel asked hopefully.

"Something a little more productive please," Zero said, "if that's not too much trouble. Don't worry about my safety for thirty seconds and use that brain of yours to come up with a plan!"

"_Zero..."_

"NOW," Zero yelled as Omega cut through the buildings after him, "CIEL!" Omega slashed, aiming for Zero's chest. Ciel's brain shut down and she yelled the first thing that popped into her head.

"_NO, ZERO!" _

Omega's slash hit nothing but more building. He looked left to right in astonishment, before looking up. A trail of after-images followed Zero as he climbed into the sky, flying without wings. It had taken Omega months to work out how to do that, and Zero could do it in only a few weeks. Omega followed him, the purple light intensifying to allow him to do the same and the two clashed in the air like birds, flying high above the skyline.

"So, you can fly now," Omega said quietly, "no matter, the battle is still mine." Omega was still the stronger, but now, traces of an aura surrounding him, Zero was the faster. He zipped through the sky, slashing at little parts of Omega's armour. Along with the time delay, Zero's mechanical sense was heightened, and he could hear every flaw in Omega's armour. Those were his targets, before the two floated back down to the tops of the buildings. The battle still raged below, but Zero couldn't tell who was winning. He hoped it was the Hunters; if he failed up here, they wouldn't last a few seconds.

"You can't beat me Zero," Omega said, "I'm the best that's ever been, as a Hunter and a Maverick." But when he tried to move, his armour crackled and sparked and wouldn't let him.

"Aren't you people ever tired of being wrong?" Zero asked. Omega snorted, and tossed the claymore away. He smacked a button on his chest, and the golden armour, apart from the mask, ejected from his body. The armour underneath resembled Zero's, but a much deeper shade of red; Omega flexed his muscles in preparation for the next level of the fight.

"You don't understand, do you Zero?" Omega said, drawing a purple saber similar in size to Zero's, "I'm not some Hunter, nor am I just a Maverick. I'm going to deliver Abel City to a prosperous new future, and you're going to help me. I will be this city's saviour, and lead it to a golden age, where the war has ended and the Hunters are nothing but a scattered memory."

"Don't preach to me," Zero said, assuming a battle stance, "I've never believed in messiahs."

"You should," Omega said, "because I AM THE MESSIAH!" Omega crossed the distance between them, and the duel was finally on a similar level. Both were clad in light, red for Zero and purple for Omega, and both were insanely fast. But without his added strength, Omega couldn't beat Zero around like before. The battle above and below raged, and nothing would stop it.

Ciel was watching helplessly as Zero and Omega duelled. But again, she couldn't help but notice that it was her that brought on a change in Zero. As she watched the battle, there was something else she noticed as well. Now Omega had lost his advantage, they were almost exactly the same. Their stances were similar, as were their styles of fighting. In fact, it would be almost impossible to tell who was who if their sabers weren't different colours.

The battle on the ground was a different matter; even with the 32nd, the fight was being drawn out. Mavericks were aiming to wound rather than to kill, which was strange. As Ciel continued to watch these feeds, she came to a sickening conclusion; the fight below ground was keeping X and the others busy, giving Omega time to convert Zero to the Maverick side. But how; in over three years of fighting, they hadn't worked out how the Mavericks converted others to their cause.

"Oh crap," Iris said from her position in the background, tapping away as she read some complicated equations, "oh," she said, finishing off one of them, "oh double crap!" She hijacked Ciel's channel to Zero. "Zero, be careful!"

"_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M DOING, IRIS?" _was the agitated reply. In the feed, Zero almost lost his ground before recovering and blocking a slash from Omega.

"No, I'm serious," Iris said, "the compound Gate was working on is a virus designed to erase free will and cause immense pain. It has to be how they keep converting Hunters!"

"_THIS HELPS ME HOW, EXACTLY?"_

Iris had no comeback to that, so she kept silent.

"_NEXT TIME YOU BUG ME WITH CRAP LIKE THAT, HAVE A REASON TO!" _

The discussion cost Zero his ground, and for the second time he was knocked to the ground. But this time he couldn't get his saber into the building, and he hit the ground hard. A cloud of dust and debris flew up, obscuring him before Omega dropped down.

"X," Layer was the first to jump to action, doing her best to remain calm, "Zero's in trouble. He's southeast of your current position, inside the cloud of dust."

"Roger that," X said, blowing a hole through a Maverick before turning to see the cloud. He began firing at it, hoping to distract Omega long enough so he could get to Zero. The distraction worked, to a point; Omega left his former target and started for X. The blue-clad Hunter fired burst after burst, but Omega simply zipped back and forth, the purple images covering his position. But before he could cut through X, a blade of green blocked him.

"Your fight is with me," a bleeding Zero said, red liquid dripping down his face. "X, finish off the grunts and get out of here. That's an order!"

X hesitated, and then nodded, turning and running back to the site of the major battle. As Zero and Omega continued their duel, X rejoined the battered Hunters, blowing holes through Mavericks left and right. Fefnir was the most ferocious of them now; not only did he release massive bursts of plasma to incinerate large numbers of Mavericks, he pummelled the crap out of any that got close to him. Leviathan and Phantom were suffering the most, though; without Harpuia's backup, their strategy had to change to a more conservative style. Axl was almost out of bullets, but he was still dropping Mavericks left and right. It seemed the only way this battle was going to be won was if Zero defeated Omega, but that seemed a distant impossibility. But X was no longer in charge, so he did as he was told and aimed to finish this fight as quickly as possible.

"WHY WON'T YOU GIVE UP?" Omega roared, pounding on Zero's defence with every word, "YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME!" He kicked Zero to the ground, before preparing to stab him again. "Screw what Sigma wants; you die right here!" But before he could strike, Zero moved his saber into a weak blocking position, barely keeping the tip of the purple blade away from him.

"Nothing," Zero mused, thinking a little. No one he knew these days thought of him like that. "No," he said, forcing the blade away from him more, unfamiliar resolve coursing through him, an image of Ciel popping into his mind, "I am ZERO!" With a mighty push, the red light once again encasing him, he forced Omega back and jumped to his feet, slashing at Omega's head. The blade tip only caught the mask he wore, but it was enough.

"That's good," Omega said, clutching at the mask to hide his face, "you've gotten a lot better...Giro."

Zero's eyes flashed; how could Omega know that name? It wasn't possible; he had left it behind when Alia died.

"You still haven't worked it out yet, have you?" Omega said, letting the mask fall away, "how about now Girouette?" Zero's narrow eyes widened; no, it couldn't be. The white-blonde hair, the same shade of green eyes, the same smug smile, everything was the same, almost as if he hadn't aged in the years it had been.

"Hey little bro," Omega said, "It's been a long time."

Zero didn't move, apart from his hands shaking. "You're a Maverick?" he asked; voice trembling more than it had in a long while.

"Come on, you really didn't see it?" Omega asked, "I'm sorry I pushed you so hard, Giro, but I didn't have a choice. I needed to see it for myself."

"See what?" Zero demanded. Omega looked sad.

"If you could really use the Phenomenon," Omega said. He raised his hand and clicked again, Vile and Gate coming out of hiding. "Gate, now," he ordered. Gate, faster than Zero could believe, dashed at him with a syringe, stabbing it into his neck before the exhausted Zero could dodge it. Whatever was in it shot into Zero's body, and after a few seconds, his limbs began to burn. "I'm sorry, Giro," Omega told him, "but there's no other way."

Zero began to yell in pain as purple electricity began to crackle over his body. He dropped to his knees, coughing up blood as he tried to fight the infection. X, finishing with the battle, saw this and got the cliff notes from Layer via Iris and attacked. He ran at Omega, loosing shot after shot at the former Hunter.

"Why do they never give up?" Omega asked, "Vile, kill him." Vile levelled his cannon and fired. X barely escaped with his life; he moved, but the blast of plasma cut through his right side, leaving him on the ground in a bloody heap. If it wasn't for the reconstruction safeguards, that blow would have destroyed him.

"NO!" Zero yelled, the Angel Phenomenon lighting up his body, mixing with the virus. Anger, undiluted and pure, began to flow through him, giving him the strength to fight this infection. He forced himself up, much to the horror and surprise of the three Maverick commanders.

"That's impossible," Gate said, "he should've succumbed by now." But it was obvious that for all of Gate's calculations, Zero would not submit.

"You knock me around," Zero said, voice shaking with rage, fists clenching, "you wage your war and you try and kill my friends. Virus or not, do you really think I'd join you? DO YOU?" The red light turned into an aura, a wall of energy surrounding him. The red light, Zero's power, was tainted with the purple of the virus, and before long the entire aura was purple. "NONE OF YOU WILL LEAVE HERE ALIVE!" That roar was the last push; Zero was lost to the rage, and the energy flowed in its purest form. The energy began to taint his body; his skin lost colour, his eyes glowed purple, even his armour became tainted with the light and changed from red to violet. Zero's saber, left on the ground during the virus attack, flew up into his hands and activated, the aura leaving the blade a purplish colour. The aura then exploded outward, causing the Mavericks to cover their eyes from the debris being kicked up. When the explosion calmed down, the three Mavericks were standing at the edge of a massive crater.

Zero wasn't Zero anymore; along with all the other changes, his hair had been bleached pure white. When he looked up at the Mavericks, Omega felt an unfamiliar emotion. It was so unfamiliar, it took him a moment to realise what it was; total, undeniable fear. Then, Zero smiled, and the fear was much more pronounced. Even Gate and Vile felt the waves of hatred that came off this new Zero.

"Welcome," the new Zero said, voice calm with utter confidence, lending new ice to this already cold exterior, "to your nightmare."


	8. Chapter 8: Zero, the Nightmare

Chapter 8: Zero, the Nightmare

"Giro, just calm down," Omega said. Zero's attention focused entirely on his older brother, and a grin spread over the Nightmare's face.

"Calm down?" Zero said, giggling. The giggle soon changed into loud, mocking laughter. "I've never felt this good!" Quick as a flash, Zero vanished in a burst of dark purple light.

"That's way too fast," Omega said, activating his own Phenomenon. The world became tinged with purple, and time slowed down. Omega quickly looked around, and saw Zero zipping around the area as a blur. Whatever this was, it wasn't Zero; if he was moving that fast in Omega's heightened perceptions, he must be moving insanely fast in real time.

'That must be why he just vanishes without leaving a trail,' Omega thought to himself.

Zero made his move and attacked. Before Omega could get in his way, Zero dodged around the fallen Hunter, saber in hand, and attacked Vile. Vile never stood a chance; Zero dismembered every limb within a few seconds, before stabbing him multiple times in the chest. Vile's chopped-up corpse fell to the ground in agonizing slow motion for Omega. The Nightmare walked slowly to Vile's severed head, crouching and leaning over it.

"Try killing my friends now," Zero said, giggling insanely, poking at the severed head, "GO ON! DO IT!" He waited a few seconds, before laughing again. "Try getting up from that, bastard." Zero stood and straightened. "Who's next?"

Gate was ready to run, so Omega charged at Zero, saber swinging. Zero dodged lazily, before ducking under Omega's guard and punched him rapidly in the stomach. To Gate, Zero didn't even look like he was moving. But to Omega, Zero's arms were moving in a blur of motion. Each punch sent waves of pain through Omega's body. In a few seconds though, Zero got bored and simply knocked Omega away, taking his saber for himself. Activating both, Zero advanced on Gate, who simply ran like a rabbit. Zero laughed again, a bone-chilling sound, before vanishing in another burst of dark purple light. He reappeared in front of Gate, whose look of shock and horror was of great amusement to Zero.

"BOO!" he yelled, and Gate fell over, scrambling over debris to get away from this demon. "Did you know, Gate," Zero said, "that Alia cried for weeks after I saved her from you? She knew she had to leave you, but didn't want to. I had to spend weeks, _weeks, _to convince her you weren't worth it."

Gate kept backing up. "And did you know that we were leaving the town, to come here and try our luck. I had just finished finalising our ticket out when you BURNT MY HOUSE TO THE GROUND!" Zero kicked out and sent Gate flying through the nearest building. Zero followed at high speed, landing on Gate's stomach, making him cough up blood. Zero deactivated the sabers and clipped them to his armour, before grabbing Gate by the front of his armour and hauling him so that they were face to face.

"If I let you speak, are you going to say you killed her because you loved her too much?" Zero asked softly, menace in his voice, "Because I think you're such a control freak you couldn't let her live unless she was yours. I've spent the past three years blaming myself for this, but it's not my fault, is it?"

"You shouldn't," Gate managed to choke out, "have taken her from me. Her blood...is on your hands too, Zero." The anger on Zero's face was indescribable; the dark purple energy that consumed him began to glow again, and Gate finally began to feel total fear. At the hands of this dark angel, his life would be decided.

"I'm going to make you suffer so much," Zero said, the malice in his voice dripping like poison, "that by the end of it, you will be begging me to kill you."

Ciel watched in total horror as Zero unleashed all his fury on the Mavericks. She couldn't get through to him via the radio.

"This is my fault," Lumine said under his breath, realising what he had done. 'I can fix this', he thought to himself, and left the Main Coordination Room, heading to the lab. He could create a remedy for this Nightmare Phenomenon. That was his responsibility alone; he was done playing this game.

"That isn't Zero," Layer said, "that's a monster." That description was all Ciel needed; she had to get to Zero. She got up, leaving her headset behind and ran out of the Coordination Room.

"Ciel," Palette called out after her, "where are you going?"

"Douglas!" Ciel yelled as she reached R&D, "I need your help!"

"What is it?" Douglas asked, concerned. He had heard about what was happening and didn't know what he could do to help Zero.

"Zero's bike," Ciel said, "how does it work?" Douglas just looked at her. "I NEED TO GET TO ZERO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Alright, come on," Douglas said, leading her over to it and giving her the crash course. "I know you need to go fast, but take it easy." Ciel didn't thank him; she just turned the key and sped off, determined to get to Zero.

Zero tossed Gate around like a ragdoll. He couldn't believe how strong he felt; it was like the very strength of God was at his command. He was better than everyone, and it felt good.

"I'm going to rip you apart," Zero said as Gate tried to crawl away, "slowly. Then, when you can't run, I'm going to burn you alive, so you can feel what you did to Alia. Every ounce of pain she felt, I'll make you feel TENFOLD!" Zero's fist smashed into Gate again and again, before he tossed him into the air like he weighed nothing. Zero jumped up after him, a trail of purple left behind him. He grabbed Gate and continued to climb higher into the sky, until Abel City sprawled out below them.

"I wonder," Zero said, "what happens to Mavericks that are thrown to the ground? LET'S FIND OUT!" Zero tossed Gate like a ragdoll, watching him plummet to the ground before pursuing him. With his newfound speed, Zero grabbed Gate before he hit the ground. The two alighted to the ground before Zero tossed him away. He began to advance on Gate again, but then Zero felt a presence above him. He turned, activating the two sabers and blocked a slash from Omega, who had retrieved the massive claymore he had used before.

"ZERO!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, the purple light of his Phenomenon burning brightly. Zero's own Nightmare power increased, and more of his sanity began to slip away. Sparks flew between the two, the power struggle much more than could be viewed.

"IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO?" Zero asked, bellowing over the sound of the sabers clash, "BECAUSE IT'S PATHETIC!" Zero shifted and Omega fell to the ground. The Nightmare stabbed Omega in the shoulder blades, causing the fallen Hunter to cry out in pain. Zero prepared to turn the blades and slice through this imposter wearing his brother's face.

"ZERO!" a voice yelled, causing Zero to be distracted. It was Ciel, on his motorcycle. Her appearance jolted something in his head, and Omega took the chance. He activated his Buster and fired at Ciel, hitting the ground right before her. She couldn't turn in time, and the bike flipped, sending her into the air. Zero reacted; he vanished in another purple flash and caught Ciel in the air. The two vanished in another flash and landed away from the battlefield.

"What are you doing here?" Zero asked, concerned. Then, a shard of pain shot through his head. "Gah, what is this?" he said, grabbing hold of his head. The purple light began to fade, and Zero's body returned to normal. As the light vanished, the pain got worse. Ciel had to climb out of his grip before he punched the ground in pain.

Omega, watching the whole ordeal, got out of his imprisonment and slinked away, leaving his saber and claymore behind. He retrieved Gate and disappeared, as the other Hunters, finally finished with the surprise attack of Mavericks. Axl was at the forefront, as were some medical personnel. The medical team surrounded Zero, and Axl pulled Ciel back so that they could knock him unconscious.

"What's happening to him?" Ciel asked as they took Zero's limp body, carrying him to the nearest ambulance. Most of the injured would be treated on the field, but Zero was a Squad Commander; he was needed to lead, and they couldn't risk him dying on them.

"Most likely the energy has affected his mind," one of the team said, "we need to get him to Iris before we'll know exactly what's happened." They loaded him into the ambulance, along with X. Axl and Ciel travelled with them, leaving Guardian Squad in charge of the clean up.

"I'm sorry Ciel," Iris said, a sad look on her face, "I'm not sure when, or even if, he's going to regain consciousness." All of Alpha Squad, minus Lumine and X, was gathered around Zero's bedside, where multiple tubes and cable were running from his body. He was fixed with a respirator, and Iris was monitoring his brain functions. X was lying on the bed next to him, fully reconstructed and still unconscious, which wasn't surprising in any way. With the amount of blood he lost, he was lucky to be alive.

"Do we know what happened yet?" Axl asked, looking to Iris for some sort of explanation. Iris just shook her head.

"Lumine probably knows, but I doubt he'll tell us anything," Iris said, "not if it doesn't prove his precious thesis. As far as I can tell, the combination of the light and the virus put too much strain on Zero's psyche. I have no idea whether or not his mind has been permanently damaged."

Axl looked on at his unconscious comrades, fists clenched. He turned and left the bay, a deep scowl on his face. Palette went after him, as always not really understanding how bad things were getting.

"Axl, wait up," she called out, jogging after him.

"Not now Palette," Axl said shortly, looking straight ahead. Palette caught up and grabbed for his hand.

"But I wanted to talk to you about somethi-" Palette didn't finish because Axl rounded on her and shoved her backwards.

"I said not NOW, Palette," he repeated, before storming off and leaving Palette stunned and hurt. Axl had never lost his temper before, especially not at her.

In fact, Axl wasn't angry at her, or at anyone other than himself. Zero and X could have died, and he had done nothing to prevent it. In his funk, he didn't notice the conversation that was taking place in the halls until he looked up and saw Elpizo and Lumine arguing. He ducked back behind a corner, and listened in. It wasn't exactly a rarity that Lumine argued with people, but he was arguing against the vice-commander, which wasn't smart at all.

"You can't be serious, Lumine," Elpizo was saying, "You do know what will happen if you turn your back on them, don't you?"

"My thesis has gotten people killed, Elpizo," Lumine said, "I'm going to fix my mistakes." Lumine left at that point, and Elpizo's communicator buzzed.

"Yes?" he answered, listening intently, or so Axl gathered, seeing as he had to stay out of sight, "yes, of course... Yes, my lord, it will be dealt with... No, Zero won't be an issue... Yes, I will as soon as I have control...understood." Elpizo turned off his communicator and walked off, leaving Axl reeling. Axl stayed rooted to the spot, before he snapped out of it and hurried to find Signas.

Layer was working on a report of the previous op, as were all the Navigators, when she noticed something. Frowning, she went back over her report and saw it again, confirming her eyes weren't playing tricks on her; there were no black-ops casualties. That was odd; all the units had taken casualties, except Elpizo's black-ops. Layer shook her head.

"That can't be right," she whispered, before she went after the tapes of the op, trying to find video of the black-ops. As she opened the file, the word DELETED pulsated on the screen in bright red letters.

"What?" Layer asked no one in particular. She brought the folder up on her personal terminal, opening it; the same. DELETED taunted her.

"This isn't right," she said, when black-ops troops, unbeknownst to her, took up positions at all the exits in the Main Coordination Room. When she got up to show Signas her findings, she was prevented from leaving.

"No one is allowed to leave this room until further notice," the guard said, "direct orders from Vice-Commander Elpizo."

Layer frowned, but returned to her workstation. She needed to get this information to Signas. She suddenly had a brain spark; using her portable terminal, she sent Palette an email

PALETTE

WE ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE

OPEN THE SURVEILLANCE FOLDER FROM THE OP

IF YOU GET WHAT I GOT, WHICH WAS NOTHING, GO TO SIGNAS

DON'T LET ELPIZO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING

LAYER

She hit send, and then settled back. She had done all she could, now it was up to Palette.

Palette's terminal beeped. She wanted to ignore it; she was still hurt over Axl's attitude, but she knew she couldn't. When she read the email from Layer, she frowned. She did as she was asked, and got the red DELETED message.

"Why would they delete surveillance footage?" Palette asked herself, when her door opened. Her head snapped up as she saw Axl close the door and lock it.

"Axl, what are you doing?" she asked angrily.

"Palette, something seriously wrong is happening," he said hurriedly, looking around the room in a rush. "I just listened in on Elpizo and Lumine arguing about something, and black-ops are everywhere. I only just got here without being caught. No one is allowed to leave their quarters or the rooms they were found in."

Forgetting her anger for the moment, Palette filled Axl in about the footage that was deleted. "But why would they delete it?" she asked him, "It just doesn't make any sense to me."

"Zero and X would choose now to be unconscious," Axl complained. "I've got no clue."

"Well, Zero and X are out of the picture," Palette said, "and I can't risk contacting Layer; if she's sending me emails, it means she's in trouble."

"How do you figure that?"

"She NEVER sends me emails," Palette explained, "about anything."

"So it's just us?"

"Yep," Palette said, "just us to figure out what Elpizo's doing." Little did they know that, very soon, they were going to find out exactly what Elpizo was going to do.

"You can't be serious," Harpuia was yelling at Elpizo. All of Guardian Squad, having been discharged from the medical wing, was gathered with Signas in the main conference chamber.

"Oh, I am," Elpizo said smugly, "In recent weeks, the High Council has decided that a change in management is in order for the Maverick Hunters. I am assuming temporary command of the Hunters until the Council decides on a more permanent leader."

"Over my dead..." Harpuia started, activating one of his beam sabers, but Signas held up a hand.

"Do you have any official orders for this change in command," Signas asked Elpizo, "or have you just decided that I am unfit to command the Hunters?"

Elpizo smirked, and threw down a computer pad. Signas grabbed it and looked at the mail. It seemed legitimate, but Signas didn't get to be Commander for his looks and his ability to follow orders. He moved the pad up as if he was inspecting it closer, and used his thumbs to tap a quick message to Layer; he'd send it to Ciel, but she wasn't in any condition to do anything right now. He sent both the message and the orders to Layer, and then slid the pad to Elpizo.

"We won't cause any trouble," Signas said, "Commander Elpizo." Guardian Squad looked at Signas as if he had lost his mind. Elpizo's smirk grew more pronounced and he left, ordering Guardian Squad to relinquish their weapons to the guards, and left to consolidate his control.

The guards moved outside the doors, locking Guardian Squad and Signas inside the conference room.

"Sir, with all due respect, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND?" Harpuia yelled.

"If we had contested, we'd be dead," Signas told him.

"We could've taken them," Phantom said, and Fefnir nodded in agreement, "they're not that good."

"All of the black-ops are loyal to Elpizo and Elpizo only," Signas explained, "he's not stupid; he'll have them stationed all through HQ to quell resistance. In fact, we're in the best place right now."

"How do you figure that sir?" Harpuia asked.

"Easy; they're not going to come after us when Alpha Squad starts to fight back."

"Sir, are you forgetting that two of Alpha Squad's members are unconscious in medical?"

"There's still one," Signas said, "and if I know Axl, he won't just sit around and let this happen. All we have to do is sit and wait for the explosions."

Inside the Main Coordination Room, the other Navigators were getting restless at not being allowed to leave. Layer kept busy; there had to be something she could do. All of a sudden, her terminal beeped. It was a message from Signas!

LYR

ELPZ HS TAKN CMND

CNTCT XLND GT HM T MDCL

CHK TH THRSTN N RDRS NCLSD

SGNS

Shortened code; remove the vowels so that it's easier to type. All Navigators knew how to read this script. Signas must have been in some sort of trouble to resort to this. Layer quickly filled in most of the gaps, and the other words quickly made sense so she could finish; THRSTN became AUTHORISATION purely out of the context of the sentence.

LAYER

ELPIZO HAS TAKEN COMMAND

CONTACT AXL AND GET HIM TO MEDICAL

CHECK THE AUTHORISATION ON ORDERS ENCLOSED

SIGNAS

Oh, this was all types of bad. Layer began her work on checking these orders, simultaneously sending Palette another email. The black-ops guards were oblivious to her, which was a good thing, because Layer was hatching a plan. She may not be able to leave, but she could definitely wreak some havoc for Elpizo if she wanted to. But for now, she needed to know whether Elpizo truly had orders to take command from Signas.

In Palette's room, Axl was checking his guns over and over, making sure they wouldn't jam if it came to a fight. Palette was tapping away on her terminal when it beeped, telling her she had another email from Layer.

"Axl," she said, opening the email and showing it to her sort-of boyfriend. He came over and read the message.

PALETTE

ELPIZO'S TAKEN COMMAND AWAY FROM SIGNAS

FIND AXL AND GET TO MEDICAL

BLACK-OPS EVERYWHERE, SO BE CAREFUL

LAYER

"Time to do that voodoo that I do so well," Axl said, cocking his gun and moving to the door, listening for movement. He couldn't hear anything, so he opened the door and looked around. There was no one in the halls.

"Right," he said, "there's nobody around. I'm going to head straight to Medical. Maybe X is awake. Contact Layer and see if she can screw around with the systems or something, buy me some time. If you can, contact Iris and see if X is awake. If Zero is too, we might just get through this."

"I'm going with you," Palette said, getting her terminal and moving to follow Axl.

"No, you're not," Axl said, "You're staying here, where it's safe."

"The hell I am!" Palette said, before Axl grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Palette, I can't do my job if I'm worrying about you," he told her, "please, stay here." Palette looked at him defiantly, and Axl sighed. "There's no reasoning with you, is there?"

"Nope," Palette said, half-smiling. Axl returned the smile, before switching to Hunter mode.

"Fine, then stay behind me," Axl said, "and mute that terminal would you? I don't need it beeping when I'm trying to save everyone."

Palette nodded and Hunter and Navigator moved into the hallway, hoping they could get the two Hunters in Medical up and ready.

In Medical, Ciel was sitting by Zero's bedside, unmoving. Iris was continuing to run scans on the Hunter when she heard a groan behind her.

"Did someone hit me with a truck?" X asked, grunting as he sat up. Iris tackled him into a hug, kissing him full on the mouth. Ciel didn't even notice; every ounce of her brain power was focused on Zero.

"Iris," X said, holding her at arm's length, "I need to breathe." After a brief explanation of what had happened, X saw Zero lying on the bed next to his. "Is he gonna be okay?" Iris gave X a look, and he got the meaning quickly; she didn't know, and she didn't want to say anything to him in case Ciel heard.

Just then, Iris's medical computer beeped. Iris told X to get dressed while she checked it. It was an email from Palette.

IRIS

ARE X AND ZERO AWAKE?

ELPIZO HAS LAUNCHED A COUP

AXL AND I ARE ON OUR WAY

IF POWER GOES OUT, IT WAS LAYER

PALETTE

"What the hell?" X said, coming up behind her and reading the message, "A coup? Is Elpizo that desperate to become Commander?"

"What do I say?" Iris asked him.

"Where's my armour?"

"Down in R&D, getting repaired and upgraded by Douglas."

"Tell them I'm awake and I'm going to need it," X said, "do you have any weapons up here?"

"Zero's rifle thing," Iris said, "it's over there." She pointed and X went and grabbed it as she tapped her reply. She sent the message, and then the lights cut out. Medical had its own backup generator, so power came back pretty quickly.

"Layer's started messing with systems," X said, cocking the rifle and going to Zero's bedside. "If Elpizo's really taking over, then the first thing he's going to do is take Zero out." Ciel's head snapped up at that.

"Why would he do that?" Ciel asked, "Zero's no threat."

"Ciel, you saw what happened before, when he was fighting Omega," X said carefully, "If Zero could do that to _Omega, _what do you think he could do to Elpizo?" Ciel looked down at Zero, leaning to his ear.

"Zero," she whispered, "if you can hear me, we really need you right now."


	9. Chapter 9: Reunion

Chapter 9 – Reunion

Lumine was working furiously. He had isolated what part of his thesis calculations and formulas that the Mavericks had been using, and he was close to finishing a serum that should flush all traces of the virus from Zero. That should allow him to wake up. He knew about Elpizo's coup, and he also knew without Zero, they wouldn't be able to stop what was coming. If the Mavericks thought for a second that they could lose, they would waste no time in waking them up. Lumine's most detestable experiment yet...

His computer beeped, and Lumine checked it. The simulations were a success; all he had to do was get the serum to Zero. Easier said than done with black-ops everywhere, but Lumine wasn't Head Navigator for no reason. He grabbed his portable terminal and hacked the security cameras with ease. Elpizo was in his office, communicating with their mutual employer no doubt. With surprise, he saw that X was awake in Medical, but Zero was still unconscious. Ciel...that was his worst mistake; one he intended to make right before the day was through. Then he saw his biggest surprise; Axl and Palette were on the move, heading down to the R&D level. He would have to head there before going to Medical. Just as he retrieved his serum, the power cut out. But he had safeguards to protect his information, so he took the serum and his portable terminal and left the safety of his lab, into the fray.

* * *

Axl and Palette moved silently through the darkened halls of HQ, managing to make their way to the stairwell. They quickly descended, and found themselves at R&D with little trouble.

"This doesn't make sense," Axl said, "What is Elpizo doing?"

"I don't know, but we need X and Zero's armour," Palette said, knocking on the door to R&D. "Douglas, it's us!" The door opened, and a shot rang out, sinking into Palette's shoulder. She fell backwards, blood pouring out of the wound. One of Elpizo's troops emerged with a smoking barrel and moved in for the kill, but Axl blew his brains out before he could take another step.

"Palette!" he cried, sinking to his knees to check her wound. She swatted him away weakly.

"I'll be fine," she whispered, "get Douglas..." her eyes closed, and Axl quickly tore part of her clothes and tightly wrapped the bullet wound. Then, he stood up, grabbing the black-ops pistol and looking into R&D. The black-ops had completely taken it over, and were guarding all the workers. They were all over confident because they knew Zero wouldn't be coming after them, Axl decided. But right now, Zero was the least of their problems.

"No one," he said, bringing his arms up, "hurts Palette!" His fingers pumped the triggers as fast as they would go, bullets sinking into four of the black-ops soldiers before they managed to return fire. They may have been elite soldiers, but the very first thing any new recruit is told when they join the Hunters is very simple; "Do not piss off the Squad members." There was a reason for this; every Squad member had 50% or more total Reconstruction, making them highly formidable. Axl had a grand total of about 60 or 70 percent reconstructed organs and body parts, including a synthetic eyeball. This made the 'fight' between Axl and the black-ops a resounding curb-stomping.

"Holy crap," Douglas said as the scientists and engineers spread out and started getting weapons, "Axl, that was amazing!"

"Douglas, I need your help," Axl said, "I need to get Palette up to Medical, and I need X's and Zero's armour."

"Consider it done," Douglas said, whistling for two of his comrades to grab the armour, "I'll carry Palette."

"Do you need any help?" a voice asked from the door. Axl and Douglas turned and saw Lumine standing there, a syringe gun loaded with a glowing white liquid inside it and a portable terminal in his hands.

"As much as we can get," Axl said, "drop that shit and help Douglas carry Palette."

"I'll leave my terminal," Lumine said, "But Zero is going to need what's inside this syringe."

"What is it?"

"Something to wake him up," Lumine said, and Axl hid his surprise that Lumine would do that for Zero fairly well.

"Alright, keep the syringe," Axl said, leading the two scientists carrying Zero and X's armours and Douglas and Lumine carrying Palette on a new lightweight stretcher for the medical teams to use up to Medical.

'Hold on, Palette,' Axl thought to himself, scanning the corridors for more black-ops. This would all be over soon.

* * *

The Guardians and Signas were still in the Commander's office, waiting for something to happen.

"Sir, what exactly are we waiting for?" Harpuia asked, annoyed that they hadn't tried to fight Elpizo.

"Shots," Signas replied simply, stopping any further questions with a look. When the power went out, Signas grinned, something the Guardians found a little disconcerting. Then they came; resistance fire sounded in the corridors. Someone had organised the troops against the black-ops and had begun to fight back.

"That's it," Signas said, standing and moving to the wall, hitting a button. The wall opened up, revealing a massive armoury of guns.

"Sir, permit me to say that you are _really _over prepared," Phantom said, "where did you get these?"

"I had Douglas prepare them for emergencies," Signas said, tossing weapons to the Guardians before grabbing his own personal shotgun and ammo belt.

"Well, we have one now," Harpuia said, cocking a hand gun. Guardian squad left, moving to the Main Coordination Room. Signas had other plans; he was going after Elpizo.

"My lord, we have control of HQ," Elpizo told his master. "Zero remains in a coma, and I am on my way to dispose of him."

"_Excellent," _the voice from the computer said, _"and how proceeds Operation RAGNAROK?"_

"It is moving apace," Elpizo said, smiling, "Everything should be in place soon."

"_You have done well, Elpizo," _the voice said, _"But I am afraid your usefulness in the Hunters has reached its end. Once you have disposed of Zero and all of his friends, you will join me."_

Elpizo's eyes widened; he had been waiting to take command of the Hunters since he defected. How dare he be taken away? But he knew better than to argue with his master, so he conceded.

"_Remember Elpizo," _the voice warned him, _"you are not as important as you think you are." _The connection was terminated, and Elpizo stood up, grabbing his beam rapier and leaving his office.

"You and you," he said to the guards stationed outside his office, "come with me." His ride should be showing up soon; once he dealt with Zero, he would be given a place in his master's inner circle. Failure was not an option.

* * *

Axl burst into Medical, and X almost shot him. On instinct the rifle came up and fired before X realised that they were friendlies.

"WHAT THE HELL, X?" was Axl's reaction, as he and the others ducked.

"Sorry!" X apologised, before asking, "What's going on outside?"

"Black-ops are everywhere," Axl said, "Palette's been wounded." Douglas and Lumine lay Palette on a bed and let Iris work. She had to patch the wound, and then give Palette a blood supplement. She should be fine; if X could survive without half his body, Palette could survive a bullet wound to the shoulder.

"Plus," Axl added, "We brought presents." Douglas's scientists laid out X's armour, fully repaired and upgraded with extra power.

"Sweet," X said, putting the rifle down and quickly changing into the armour, "now we have some firepower, we should take down Elpizo." Then, X noticed Lumine and glared. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Lumine held up the syringe. "This should help Zero. It's an antidote to the Maverick virus, but it's never been tested, so I don't know what could happen." Ciel only heard "antidote to the Maverick virus." She stood up and snatched the syringe out of Lumine's hands, and before anyone could stop them, she stabbed the device into Zero, unloading all of its contents into her fallen warrior.

"That wasn't a good idea," Lumine said, "that was the only batch I made!"

"It will be enough," Ciel said, holding Zero's hand, "do you hear me Zero? We need your help."

She watched with bated breath for some change in Zero. She was rewarded with nothing, nothing at all. Lumine watched as well; he didn't know how much of that virus they had pumped into him. The amount he had given should counteract the effects, but it would be up to Zero to break out of the virus's hold.

_Deep in Zero's subconscious, Zero saw himself sitting in a large room, filled with TV screens. Every event that had happened to him over the past few years, from Alia's death onwards; whatever that virus had done to him, it had finally given him a chance to think. _

"_What have I become?" Zero asked himself. People saw him as a hero; others saw him as a pawn in their grand game. The virus had made him a walking hurricane of death and destruction. "What do I want to be?"_

"_Whatever you want," a voice said. It was a voice he hadn't heard in years. Zero rose up and turned and saw Alia, not a day older than when she had died, approach him._

"_Alia," he said, reaching out to her. But then he stopped, and pulled his hand back. "This isn't real, is it?"_

"_No, it isn't," Alia told him, "we're inside your head."_

"_But, why are you here?"_

"_You know the answer to that," Alia said, "your friends have worked out how to save you. I'm here to wake you up. You're friends up there need you now. Ciel especially; she needs you to commit to her."_

"_But, I," Zero started to say, and then stopped. Alia smiled at him understandingly._

"_I know, you don't want to let me go," she told him, "but you have to. You don't have to forget, but you need to move on. You're not Girouette anymore, you're Zero." _

_Zero nodded, before closing his eyes. It was time to stop living in the past. He looked for all of his anger and hate; at Omega, at Gate and even at himself, and he let it go. Omega and Gate would pay for what they had done, but he wouldn't lose control again. _

"_Ciel," he breathed, and his vision of Alia blurred, and the last he saw of her was her smile. The room was filled with bright light, and Zero floated upwards, heading for his reason to live now. _

While all this was happening, Elpizo burst into Medical, his rapier blazing. His guards attacked X and Axl, and while they were distracted, he blew past Lumine, Iris and Douglas and made to stab Zero.

"This all ends now!" he yelled gleefully, bringing his rapier down. But his blade was stopped, by none other than Ciel. She had grabbed Zero's saber as Elpizo came in and was now using everything she had to hold him off. Elpizo pulled his blade back and took in what he was seeing. Ciel, imitating Zero, brought the saber up, looking determined.

"You can't stop me," Elpizo said, charging forward and easily knocking Ciel off her feet. The saber deactivated and flew upward, landing next to Zero. Elpizo kicked Ciel in the gut, knocking the wind out her. She groaned and vomited a little, coughing and spluttering as she tried to draw breath. Elpizo kicked her again and again, to make sure she wasn't getting up. The others tried to stop him, but he knocked Lumine and Douglas to the ground, and smacked Iris on the side of the head, knocking her unconscious.

"No more wasting time!" Elpizo yelled, moving to stab Zero. X and Axl had finished with his guards, but they were too slow. The rapier came down, but that was when it activated. A pure white light engulfed Zero and knocked Elpizo back. Zero's armour began to glow the same colour, and flew towards him. Zero's body rose up, and the armour all clicked into place. His saber snapped straight into his hand, activating. The green energy turned white as well, and everyone looked on in astonishment.

"This is it," Lumine breathed, eyes wide, "the Angel Phenomenon."

Elpizo was trembling; he had seen the monster that Zero had become against Omega, and thought that would be the worst he'd have to deal with. But this...this was beyond him. He got up and ran, but Zero was too quick. In a split second, Zero was in front of him. Elpizo stumbled and fell down, trying to get away. Zero didn't advance, simply staring at him.

"This is what they've awakened," Zero said, his voice calm, "go and tell them that Zero is awake, and that no Maverick is safe. Not even Omega."

Elpizo didn't need more incentive; he dashed past Zero and headed out the door at top speed. The white light faded from Zero, and he fell to the ground, exhausted. When Iris tried to check that he was alright, he swatted her away.

"I'm fine," he said, a little breathlessly, "go and check on Ciel." He forced himself up, and stumbled again. X and Axl grabbed him and helped him get his bearings.

"Zero, what the hell was _that_ light?" X asked, a hand on Zero's shoulder. "I swear, you have more colours than a freaking rainbow!"

"Ask Lumine," Zero said, "but later. What's going on?"

"Elpizo's taken over," Axl told him, "We need to take back the Main Coordination Room."

"No you don't," Iris said, "I just got a message from Layer; Guardian Squad dealt with the resistance in there."

"_Alpha Squad, come in," _Layer's voice came over their radios, _"this is Layer. Come in Alpha Squad."_

"We're here," Zero said, tapping his com, "what's the situation?"

"_I'm taking control back from whoever gave it to Elpizo, but they're putting up a fight. After I sent my last email, someone cut me out of the mainframe."_

Zero crossed the room to Ciel, putting a hand on her arm. "You feel up to helping Layer sort out whatever's going on?" Ciel nodded, wincing as she got up. "You two; escort Ciel to Main Coordination," Zero said to Douglas's workers, who were still armed. "If anything happens to her, you deal with me, understand?" The workers nodded, and Ciel smiled weakly.

"You didn't have to do that," she told him, as the workers made sure their weapons were ready.

"Of course I did," Zero said, "I should take you, but I don't have the time right now."

"Because you're Alpha Squad's leader," Ciel said, "I know."

"No," Zero told her, "because I'm your boyfriend. That's my job; to protect you." It was the first time Zero had even hinted at the fact he and Ciel were a couple. Ciel's eyes widened at the declaration.

"Okay, Zero," X said loudly, "Normally, I wouldn't mind, but now is not the time to get mushy. We have a Maverick to take down." Zero nodded, quickly kissed Ciel on the cheek and led his team out into the halls.

"Why'd you have to pick now to grow a heart?" Axl remarked.

"Call it an epiphany," Zero said, activating his Buster, "let's see who's pulling Elpizo's strings."

"What do you mean?" X asked.

"When I woke up, I could hear his thoughts," Zero explained, "no idea how I did it, but he's scared of someone that we aren't familiar with."

"The Maverick leader," Axl breathed, cocking his gun, "we never found out who it was."

"Maybe we will," Zero said, grinning. "Be nice to know who we're fighting." Reunited by the danger, Alpha Squad sped down the hallways, after Elpizo, and answers that had evaded the Hunters for a long time. No one ever knew the identity of the general that had formed the Mavericks in the first place. But if they could identify the leader, maybe they could finally turn the tide of war in their favour.


	10. Chapter 10: Eurasia

Well, holy crap! Here we are for chapter number ten. I am so sorry that it has been forever since I last updated, but I haven't had much time to write my fan fiction. I hope this is up to everyone's standards, and I hope for god the breaks are working now so it isn't one wall of text.

Read On and Enjoy

* * *

**C****hapter 10: Eurasia**

Ciel and her two guards ran down the corridors, arriving at the Main Coordination Room with time to spare.

"Ciel," Layer called out, and Ciel headed toward her, "over here!"

"What's the problem, Layer?" Ciel asked, taking a chair and looking at her fellow Navigator.

"Someone is in the system and is actively keeping me out of the life signs detectors and the city's early warning systems, along with about thirty other important systems. I managed to keep them out of communications and some other semi-important systems, but I'm losing."

"Let me have a crack at this," Ciel said, flexing her fingers and typing furiously, accessing back doors and cracks in the programming that would need to be fixed if they got out of this. But whoever was on the other side of the link was very good, too good for your average Maverick.

"You may know your way around this system," Ciel said, smiling a Zero smile, "but I_ wrote_ this system." Ciel plunged head first into the data, rewriting codes to systems and locking out her opponent, who did the same to her, but was focusing on two key systems; the life signs detectors that identified enemies and friendlies inside Hunter HQ, and the city's early warning systems. Without those, the Hunters would be fighting blind.

"This is Navigator Ciel," she said, activating the speakers inside the base, "Our system has been compromised; Mavericks have control of the early warning systems. Any Hunters not engaging the black-ops should move into the city and keep in constant communication with their Navigators. All Navigators, report to Main Coordination to help assemble intelligence and restore the system to our control." She shut off the speakers and focused on recovering those two systems. Layer helped out as well, and the two Navigators worked together to try and restore the system to their control.

* * *

Zero, X and Axl had met up with Guardian Squad on their way up; Elpizo was headed for the roof. The elite Hunters easily made their way through the now-deserted halls of HQ.

"So, finally admitted it, huh?" Harpuia said to Zero, X having filled the Guardians about his declaration, "about freaking time."

"Not the issue, Harpuia," Zero told him, "We have more pressing issues." The Hunters ascended the stairs, only steps behind the Maverick Elpizo. Elpizo burst out onto the roof, heading for the edge.

"Stop there, Elpizo," Zero said; all seven Hunters had a weapon pointed at him. "You're going nowhere."

"Isn't that the truth?" Elpizo asked rhetorically, "I failed. They're going to kill me, so why should I bother?"

"Before they do," Zero said, advancing slowly, trying to keep Elpizo talking, "tell us; who are you working for?"

"Suppose there's no reason to keep it hidden," Elpizo said, turning and stepping backwards onto the roof. Zero stopped; Elpizo wasn't that desperate, was he? "The Maverick leader is a man named Sigma. Omega, Gate, Vile, myself, we all report to him. But you can't stop us. Ragnarok is coming, and not even your precious power can stop it."

"What's Ragnarok?" Zero asked, moving closer. But he wasn't fast enough; Elpizo took a step back and fell off the building. The Hunters rushed to the edge, and Zero pounded the railing. It didn't take long for Elpizo to hit the ground; there wasn't anything left to reconstruct. Their one source of information was dead.

"Great," Leviathan said, throwing her hands into the air, "he's gone, and all we have is a name."

"Sigma..." Phantom mused, "wasn't he a general in the army during the Eve War? I remember reading that he proposed a number of operations that were little more than mass-murder."

"That wouldn't surprise me," X said, "If he's leader of the Mavericks, then he's got his fill of mass murder. What do you think, Zero?"

"I think," Zero said, still looking down at the street pizza that used to be Elpizo, "that we need to get back out onto the streets. The Mavericks wouldn't attack us if they didn't have a bigger plan."

"_Zero, you need to get down to Main Coordination," _Ciel's voice came down, _"We have a bit of a situation." _

"What is it?" Zero asked, tapping his com. He hated when Ciel found problems; they were the sort you couldn't fix with determination and elbow grease.

"_Just get down here," _Ciel said, and cancelled the link. Zero shook his head and led the Hunters backed down into the building.

* * *

In Main Coordination, Signas had taken his place at the centre of the room, waiting for his troops to arrive.

"Finally," Ciel yelled out, causing the room to turn, "I've broken through the coding; restoring early detection systems." The room shut down for a brief second, then the power was restored and the city was lit up with red dots that signalled that the Mavericks had moved into the outskirts, headed to the Abel City Space Centre.

"What the hell are they doing there?" Signas asked himself, before turning to Ciel, "Order all available units to close in on the Space Centre." Ciel nodded and sent the information just as Alpha and Guardian Squad entered.

"What's going on?" Harpuia asked as the group approached Signas. Signas turned and nodded at Zero, who returned it.

"More importantly," Signas said, "what have you done about Elpizo?"

"He's street pizza," Zero told him, "he jumped off the roof before we could grab him."

"Right," Signas said, turning back to the main screen, "Did he give you any information at all before he jumped?"

"Just a name," Zero said, "Sigma." Signas stiffened at the mention of the name. "Apparently, that's the name of the Maverick leader."

"Are you sure he said Sigma?" Signas asked, voice straining to remain calm. "Are you positive?"

"Yes," Zero said, frowning, memories of the siege coming back to him, "and Omega mentioned the name to me during our fight. Who is he?"

"A man that should be dead," Signas spat, before he regained his composure and gestured to the screen. "Mavericks are moving in on the ACSC; I need you to go there and make sure that they don't take the centre."

"Uh, sir," a Navigator spoke up, "I'm receiving launch codes from the ACSC; the supply shuttle is on its way to the Eurasia Colony."

"What the hell?" Signas asked, "That shuttle shouldn't be leaving for another three days."

"Sir, I'm receiving communication from the shuttle," the Navigator said, "putting it on the main screen." The diagram of the ACSC vanished and the image of a bald man appeared. Long vertical scars covered his eyes, and Signas tensed at the image.

"Attention, Maverick Hunters," the man's voice was booming and deep, "this is Sigma, supreme overlord of the Maverick Empire. We invite you to watch as your city is destroyed by the fires of Ragnarok. Zero, if Elpizo failed and you are listening to this message, you are quite welcome to try and stop us, but you will ultimately fail." The image cut out, and Signas scowled.

"Sigma," Signas spat, fists clenching, "you will pay for this. I want that shuttle grounded!"

"Negative sir," the Navigator said, "the shuttle has already left the ground. It's headed straight for the Eurasia Colony."

"What are they planning?" X asked, "How are they going to destroy the city? And what the hell is this Ragnarok thing?"

"A plan Sigma came up with during the Eve War," Signas said, "he wanted to wipe out the opposing army by dropping a large old-century satellite on them. The explosion would have killed everyone, including a sizeable part of our own army. He even said an asteroid would do the trick; needless to say, he never got the approval for either option and the plan was rejected."

"Wait a second," Zero said, putting two and two together, and not liking the 'four' he found, "Elpizo mentioned Ragnarok before he died. A satellite wouldn't pose much of a problem for us; long range cannons could vaporise the thing before it even got close. Even an asteroid wouldn't work; the nearest asteroids are millions of kilometres away from Earth. So, what's big enough to take down the city?" It was a rhetorical question, but Ciel answered, approaching the assembled Hunters. The screen showed the planet, highlighting Abel City as a dot on the map. It also highlighted the Eurasia Colony, a massive space station that housed everyone that couldn't fit in Abel City or Giga City. It did well, despite always facing supply problems. The computer ran a simulation and projected that the range of destruction wouldn't just wipe out Abel City, but Giga City and most of the edge of the continent. There were small settlements that would be affected by the fallout of dust and radiation. In effect, all of them would be removed from existence.

"Eurasia," she breathed, "they're going to drop the Eurasia Colony on Abel City!"

"Zero, X, Axl," Signas addressed them, "Douglas has been working on a jet capable of breaking and entering atmosphere. See how much of it has been finished and take it after the shuttle. Guardians, I want the space centre rescued and under our control. Move out!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The Hunters scattered, but Signas kept Zero behind for a moment.

"Zero, you should know that Lumine came to me earlier and resigned his position as Head Navigator after what happened with Omega and his thesis. Ciel has already taken his position, but from what you tell me, I need a new Vice-Commander. Are you up for the job?"

Zero looked at Ciel, who nodded at him, smiling in encouragement. "Gladly, sir," Zero said, saluting Signas, "Vice-Commander Zero, reporting for duty."

Signas smiled grimly, "Go, save Eurasia. If anyone can do it, you can." Zero nodded, and looked at Ciel, winking. She smiled and winked back, and they separated, Ciel to coordinate the operation, and Zero to carry it out.

* * *

"Signas must be desperate if he wants to use this jet," Douglas said as he led the team of Hunters to the hangar bay. The hangar would rise up and deploy the Hunters air force; that is, if they had an air force outside of under-armed transport ships.

"Why is that?" X asked. He was pumped to get into space; he had never been.

"Because it's not ready yet," Douglas told him, "We have engines, but they don't have the power to break atmosphere."

"Let me worry about the power," Zero said, determined, "we can take that thing down before it hits space."

"Oh, man," X said, "could we draw it out a little, please?"

"Can we not?" Axl asked, "I hate flying."

"We need you on the guns, Axl," Zero told him, clapping him on the shoulder, "I wouldn't have anyone else."

"Thanks Z," Axl said, smiling a little. He was thinking about Palette; Iris said she'd be alright, but he was still worried. She had lost a lot of blood, and she hadn't regained consciousness yet.

Douglas led them to the jet; parts of it were being flash-welded into place. It only had room for two people. The engines were pretty large, and the wings were folded, waiting to be extended. All in all, it didn't look very threatening, but neither did a lot of things to do with the Hunters.

"The wings have two stages of extension, and along with the main guns there are three types of missiles," Douglas said, "unfortunately, there are only two seats, so one of you is going to have to stay on the ground."

"Oh man," X said, "I'm stuck on the ground, aren't I?"

"Sorry, X," Zero said, "You're a good shot, but I need Axl on this one." X nodded, and Axl began to tremble.

"Really, X can go," Axl said, backing away, "he can shoot down a shuttle full of Mavericks. It's not that hard."

"Get in," Zero said, grabbing Axl and pushing him to the jet. "X," Zero turned to his friend, "team up with Guardian Squad and defend the ACSC. Douglas, please tell me this thing flies."

"It can, but it doesn't, and I stress this, have the capability to break atmosphere," Douglas said, knowing Zero hadn't been listening earlier. He probably only heard 'this is a jet, so blow the bloody sound barrier. Don't worry, nothing could possibly go wrong'. "So go, now, and shoot these guys down before they get into space."

"Good to know," Zero said, jumping into the open cockpit. Axl climbed into the co-pilot's chair, grabbing the firing controls. "Let's fly."

Douglas initiated the launch sequence, and the jet rose up, the roof opening to allow them out. Zero closed the canopy and activated communications with HQ. Axl powered up the weapons, looking terrified. Zero tapped his helmet, linking with Axl's com.

"Remember, shoot them down the second you get a shot," Zero told him, "we can't risk them getting anywhere near Eurasia."

"You got it," Axl replied, "take them out, get back on the ground." Zero shook his head as he finished the pre-flight checks and grabbed the thruster controls.

"This is Zero and Axl, in..." Zero paused as he thought of a name for the jet, then shrugged, "This is Zero and Axl; Hunter One, launching!" Zero threw the thruster controls forward and shot the jet forward, before pulling it up and taking to the sky. The jet sped across the sky as Zero fully unfolded the wings. Axl felt like he was going to throw up. Zero whooped loudly, his face lit up with excitement.

* * *

Sigma was standing behind Gate and Omega, the latter of whom was piloting the stolen shuttle. Gate was reading radar and trying to stay ahead of the Hunters' radio chatter. In the back of the shuttle was a huge crate with a large 'W' painted on it.

"Are we ready to break atmosphere yet, Omega?" Sigma asked in his deep voice.

"Almost, Lord Sigma," Omega said, flicking switches and pressing buttons, "preparing for main burn in four minutes." Omega knew that could be too long, but they were too high and moving too fast for any Hunter to catch. Of course, they were counting on the fact that Elpizo had taken Zero out.

Gate's radar flashed, and he peered at it. "Uh, my lord," he said hesitantly, "we may have a problem."

"What is it, Gate?" Sigma asked.

"We have something approaching us at three o'clock," Gate said, "moving at about...500 kilometres an hour. It's closing on our position."

"The Hunters don't have anything that can move that fast," Omega said, "So what is it?"

"I have no idea," Gate said, but whatever it is, it's fast. We should get a visual in three, two, and one." A holographic image flashed up, showing a jet that Omega had never seen before. But only one person could pilot a jet at that speed and keep on course.

"Elpizo failed," Omega said, pushing the engines on the shuttle to maximum, "Zero's still alive."

"I'm not surprised," Sigma growled, turning and pounding on the crate. Something inside powered up and punched through the wood. A hulking trooper with a powerful cannon emerged from the box. It resembled Vile, but it was a Mechaniloid with much more power than the Maverick ever had.

"Baba," Sigma said, and the Mechaniloid turned to face him, "Destroy Zero."

"Mission acknowledged," Baba said in an electronic voice. As the Mechaniloid turned to the loading hatch, Sigma hit the emergency open button and backed into the cockpit, closing off the cockpit from the loading bay and opening the loading bay ramp. Baba was their ace in the hole; if it failed, then Sigma would have to take to the battle himself.

* * *

Zero's face was set in stone, but inside he was leaping for joy. This was the best vehicle he had ever used; the speed was intense. He piloted the jet with ease, bringing it in pursuit of the shuttle.

"Axl, open fire," Zero told his gunner. Axl pulled the trigger, and bullets spat out of the guns, scratching the transport before the back door of the shuttle opened up and a massive beam of plasma shot at them. Zero threw the jet into a spin, barely avoiding the beam.

"The hell was that?" Axl shouted into the comm.

"Plasma blast," Zero replied, shaken, "but only Vile had that sort of power."

"Didn't you kill him?" Axl asked, a little annoyed that Vile could be taking shots at him.

"I don't think 'kill' is accurate," Zero said, having a brief flash of memory of his mutilation of Vile. Zero could see a huge figure, holding a plasma cannon like Vile's. It couldn't be Vile, but Zero could guess that whatever it was, it was buying time.

"Axl, keep shooting," Zero ordered, "I'll focus on dodging that thing."

"Roger that, big Z," Axl said, pulling the trigger. Their assailant loosed blast after blast, and Zero could barely keep up. The jet handled like a shopping cart when it came to manoeuvres, but Zero had complete confidence Axl could take the shuttle down. But before Axl could get a clear shot, the back hatch closed and the shuttles engines began to burn fuel, rocketing ahead and away from the shuttle.

"Oh, no you don't!" Zero yelled, throwing the thrusters up to maximum and pursuing them. Douglas's warning about not breaking atmosphere was in his mind, but he only had one thing he could do.

"Ciel," Zero whispered, his girlfriend's smiling face popping into his mind. He felt the familiar burn of energy in his body, and he began to glow red.

"Z, why are you doing that in here?" Axl asked, a little concerned for his friend. Zero didn't answer and the energy began to flow out of him, into the jet. Soon, the entire jet began to glow with the bright red of Zero's Angel Phenomenon.

"Now, let's fly!" Zero yelled out, and the jet began to push even faster. Both Hunters could feel the heat of the atmosphere around them. It felt like being stuck in an oven dumped in the sun. The atmosphere soon broke underneath the super-powered jet, and Zero and Axl found themselves in space. They felt the weightlessness, and the sheer size of nothing was almost overpowering.

"Holy crap," Axl said, "so this is space?"

"Yeah," Zero said, "but we're not here to sight see, so let's get on that shuttle." Zero could see both the shuttle and the massive colony, Eurasia. He pushed the jet after it, and Axl began to fire again, but the bullets weren't doing anything.

"Crap," Axl said, "there's no air for the bullets to combust."

"Fire a freaking missile then!" Zero snapped.

"Do we even have any?" Axl asked, checking through his weapons display. As it turned out, they had three missiles, all able to be fired outside of atmosphere. "Huh, why didn't we use these before?"

"JUST FIRE THE THINGS!" Zero yelled, and Axl obliged, firing missile after missile at the shuttle. The little emergency shuttle took off before the missiles impacted with the shuttle and completely vaporised it. The soundless explosion took Axl by surprise.

"What, no 'whoosh'?" Axl asked, trying to imitate the sound of an explosion.

"No air to carry the sound," Zero told him, "now let's get this thing parked. Eurasia, this is Maverick Hunter Vice-Commander Zero, S-A Class, authentication code 0-2-Delta-Niner. I am requesting radio contact."

"_We read you, Vice-Commander," _the other end said, _"we just got notified about the threat. Thanks for taking care of that for us."_

"You're welcome, Eurasia," Zero responded, "we'd like permission to land and maybe some transport arranged to take us home. I don't think ours can handle another burn like that."

"_We have another shuttle coming in from Giga City in a couple of weeks," _the radio operator told him, _"I can't do anything before then, sorry."_

"Always wanted to visit the Eurasia Colony," Zero said, bringing the jet in for a landing sequence at one of the landing bays.

"Two weeks," Axl said, disappointed. He should've insisted that X go in his place. He wanted to be with Palette when she woke up.

"Hey, Axl," Zero said, snapping Axl out of his thoughts, "you alive back there?"

"Yeah," Axl said, "yeah, I'm here. What is it?"

"That was some fancy shooting," Zero told him, "nice work, Axl. I'm sure Palette would've been jumping up and down, saying something sappy that'd have made you smile."

"Thanks, Z," Axl said, "I just wish I was back down there, that's all." He looked out at the earth, looking like a big, blue and green marble.

"Trust me, Axl," Zero said, bringing the jet in for a landing inside the colony, "I know how you feel."


	11. Chapter 11: Quiet Time

Well, here we are again. Now, I'm creating some of my own characters in this chapter, rather than taking from the massive bounty of characters already around in the Megaman universe, mostly because I want a little more freedom in characterisation. Also, just plucking characters from the series isn't going to work for the three characters that were created. I'm pretty sure someone is going to complain about some of the things done in this chapter, but if you do feel so inclined, please don't flame.

Read On and Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 11: Quiet Time

The Abel City Space Centre was still under repair from the siege of Mavericks two weeks ago. It's most basic functions had been restored, but a lot of the more complex ones had been totally demolished. It had cost a hundred Hunters to bring the centre back under their control, and it could've been more if the Guardians and X hadn't given them support.

All of Alpha Squad stood near the runway as the Giga City shuttle _Dominion _made its approach. Palette was bouncing on her heels with barely contained excitement, and Ciel was hugging herself, waiting for Zero. Iris and X were the most impatient though. Iris needed to check Zero over for any contamination of the virus he had been infected with and X had been doing solo missions for far too long.

The _Dominion_ touched down, its tyres skidding across the runway before it came to a stop. The group moved behind the shuttle as the hatch opened. Axl was the first to stumble out, screaming at the top of his lungs and looking terrified.

"That was the most uncomfortable ride I've ever been on," he was yelling, "AND I've been the victim of X's driving for about three or four years now!" He was dressed in civilian clothes; a gift from the Eurasia government for preventing the station from being destroyed. They had been offered more, but Zero had turned down payment except to clothes, rooms and any food that could be spared. Eurasia needed their rewards more than they did.

"Quit complaining," Zero said, "It wasn't that bad."

"I GOT THROWN INTO THE CEILING, TWICE!" Axl yelled. Palette ran at him, yelling his name, and he turned, all problems forgotten. He held out his arms and Palette jumped into them, the two of them spinning around. Zero shook his head as he approached the group, passing the now silent reunion between Axl and Palette.

"Heard I missed a good fight," he said, clasping hands with X, "How was it?"

"Easy as all hell," X said, giving his friend a hug, "How was space?"

"Boring as all hell," Zero said, returning the hug before moving away to Ciel. She smiled at him, and he pulled her into an embrace, planting a kiss on her neck.

"I missed you," Ciel said, nuzzling into her boyfriend's chest.

"Not as much as I missed you," Zero told her, before letting the embrace die as Iris approached. The look on her face was enough to make Zero cringe.

"You, in the ambulance, now," Iris told him, pointing to the waiting ambulance. Zero wanted to argue, but Ciel was watching him with wide eyes. So, he bit his tongue and did as he was told. He climbed into the ambulance and let himself be taken back to HQ. Ciel was with him, holding his hand.

"I feel like I've been told I have cancer or something," Zero said, smiling at Ciel. She returned the smile, but Zero could see the worry in her eyes. Zero knew what she was worried about; if he still had the virus, he could easily become that monster he was before. He never wanted to become that again, no matter the cost.

* * *

Zero was lying on a medical bed, waiting for the results of his scan. Iris insisted on keeping him here until all the data had been collated. Zero didn't even know what collate meant, but it was a word Iris said, so it must be important.

Zero tapped away the hours as he waited, before Iris entered the bay, looking forlorn.

"So, am I still potentially homicidal?" Zero asked cheerfully, sitting up on the bed and smiling a little. Iris didn't return the smile, which eventually made Zero's fade away. "I am still potentially homicidal, aren't I?"

"I'm sorry Zero," Iris said, "but Lumine's compound wasn't perfect. It removed the virus's hold on your personality, but the virus is still there." She handed Zero photos of his RP signature. The energy was as strong as it had ever been, but there was a streak of purple throughout the bright orange. "I think when you activated your power during the virus's attack on you, you fused the two. The virus is now tied to that power, and when you use the power…" she trailed off.

"The virus starts attacking again," Zero finished, handing her the photos. "So, I can't use my power to fight?"

"I wouldn't advise it," Iris told him, "but I think you can use it for brief periods, up to five minutes or so before the virus starts to do its damage. I don't think any extended use is smart."

"Right," Zero said, looking downcast, "I may as well fight with one arm then, because the next time I meet Omega, he's going to destroy me."

"Zero," Iris started, before she felt vomit rise up and ran past him, the splatter of vomit hitting the bottom of an empty bin as she crashed spectacularly to her knees, just seconds away before she would've vomited all over the floor.

"Iris?" Zero asked, dropping to her side, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Iris said, swatting him away, "I just haven't been feeling well lately." Her hand went to her stomach as she said it, and Zero caught the gesture.

"What's wrong?" Zero asked, "Is it a bug or something? You should take some time off if it is; we don't need our chief medical officer falling ill."

"It's not a bug," Iris said, picking herself up, "It's nothing."

"Iris, don't lie to me," Zero said, "or I'll get X down here and he can figure it out."

"Please, don't," Iris pleaded, "alright." She took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to have a baby."

It wasn't what Zero was expecting to hear, so it took his brain a few seconds to process what he just heard. "A baby?" he asked, and Iris, starting to blush a little, nodded. "Well, that's great! X will make a great dad!" Zero was suddenly stopped by a thought. "It IS X's, isn't it?"

"How could you ask me that?" Iris demanded, getting angry. Zero waved his hands to calm her down.

"I didn't mean like that," Zero said, "I was just wondering why you haven't told him yet."

"What makes you think I haven't?" Iris asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Because if you had," Zero explained, "it would've been the first thing Axl and I heard on Eurasia." Iris thought about that for a second and realised that he was right. "So, why haven't you told X?"

"I…" Iris didn't have a real answer. She looked at Zero helplessly, shrugging. "I just don't want him to be angry."

"Angry? X? Are we talking about the same guy?" Zero asked, "X doesn't get angry. I think he'd be over the moon if he found out he was going to be a dad. You should tell him, and soon." Zero put a hand on Iris's shoulder for a moment, then left. Iris put a hand to her stomach, rubbing it slightly.

"Zero," Signas said as the Hunter entered his office, "what can I do for you?"

* * *

"Vice Commander Zero reporting for duty," Zero said, saluting. Signas couldn't help himself, he just started laughing. "Can I ask what exactly is so funny, sir?"

"You," Signas said between breaths, his chest heaving from laughter, "I remember when you first walked in my door, all sullen and anti-authority. I don't think you'd recognise him."

"Probably not," Zero said, relaxing a little. "Do I have any Vice-Commander duties I should be aware of, sir?"

"Your orders are taken into account in major battles," Signas said, "and I may need your back-up during meetings with the High Council, but for the most part, you still work as head of Alpha Squad. Which leads me to," Signas tossed Zero an envelope, "your next assignment. My only request is that you gather your squad before you read the orders."

"Sir," Zero said, saluting again before leaving. Signas smiled a little, before returning to his work.

* * *

"So, standing orders," X said, looking at the envelope in Zero's hands. Zero had made sure everyone had gathered in the squad room before he showed it to them.

"Well, open it already," Axl said, "I want to know what crap Signas is getting us into now."

Zero shook his head as he tore the envelope open and pulled out the orders. "Members of Alpha Squad," he read, in a slightly official manner, "In light of your achievements both above and beyond the call of duty, your new orders are simply to…" Zero frowned. No way would Signas be officially ordering them to do _that. _

"What?" Axl asked, almost as jumpy as Palette, "Our 'orders are simply to' what?"

"Your new orders are simply to go out and enjoy yourselves," Zero said, and everyone stared at him, "your work will be given to other squads to complete, and Guardian Squad has taken your normal patrol areas. Go and have fun, that's an order."

"No way it says that," X said, snatching the orders from a stunned Zero, "Holy crap, it does say that!"

"Our secret, top priority mission is to take time off?" Axl asked. "HE COULDN'T HAVE JUST TOLD US THAT?"

"Axl, calm down," Zero said, "Did you really want to spend your time off on Eurasia?" That calmed Axl down almost instantly. Zero turned to Layer; being the only single member of Alpha Squad, as far as he knew, anyway, he felt Layer deserved to be asked first. "What are you planning on doing?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"I have some other things I need to take care of," Layer said, "A little side-project I've been working on." Layer left then, her long hair swaying behind her as the group watched her go.

"Her idea of time off is more work?" Axl asked, "That's a little weird."

"I think Layer's seeing someone from R&D," Palette said knowingly, nodding with a large grin on her face. Zero just shook his head; he'd have to ask Palette who it was sooner or later, but for now, he'd just smile.

"I don't think we need to hang around here any longer," Zero said, sliding the orders back into their envelope and tossing them onto a desk, before he turned to Ciel. "I have something to take care of, but then I will see you later." He kissed Ciel on the cheek before leaving the squad room, leaving Axl and Palette to talk about what they were going to do. X didn't move, looking a little disappointed, and Ciel moved a little closer, sitting next to him.

"X, are you okay?" Ciel asked, looking at him. X ran a hand through his hair.

"Iris has been a little distant lately," X said, "I don't know what's wrong."

Ciel smiled a little, before patting X on the shoulder and leaving. X wondered what had happened with Iris to make her pull away from him in the past few days.

* * *

"Signas is giving you time off?" Iris asked, tending to a patient as Zero explained what had happened.

"All of Alpha Squad," Zero explained, "Which, as far as I'm concerned, includes you."

"I can't take time off," Iris said, "I have patients to tend to."

"From what I can see," Zero said, "there isn't anything that someone else can't take care of. Don't you have a medical staff?"

"I'm the only one qualified to deal with the Reconstructions," Iris told him, "plus, I have paperwork to do." She turned her back to him, looking at another patient. As far as she was concerned, the matter was finished.

"Iris," Zero decided to go into 'official' mode, "As Vice-Commander of the Hunters, I am ordering you to take time off. Spend some time with X. I'm sure you both need it." Zero left then and Iris rubbed her stomach thoughtfully, frowning. Suddenly, her communicator beeped. Iris answered it and heard X on the other end.

"X," she said, surprised, "I wasn't expecting you to call."

"_Sorry for bothering you,"_ X said, _"But we've just got given our new assignment. Signas wants…"_

"You all to take time off," Iris finished his sentence for him, "Zero's just been down to tell me and to give me time off as well."

"_Well, that's great!"_ X exclaimed, _"I was thinking about booking a table at that restaurant you like, the one that does the fish. It's been a while since we've spent some quality time together."_

"That sounds nice," Iris said, smiling, "I'll be looking forward to that."

"_Iris,"_ X figured he better ask now, _"Is everything okay? Only you've been a little distant lately."_

"I'll tell you over dinner," Iris said, "It's nothing that can't wait." X consented to that, and let the matter drop.

"_I'll see you tonight,"_ he said, before hanging up. Iris put her communicator back into her pocket and rubbed her stomach again. Maybe this dinner was what she needed to tell X. Iris left Medical and headed to her room; she needed to find something to wear.

* * *

Zero headed down the hall, entering the elevator and calling Ciel, telling her to meet him in the hall outside their rooms. He got their first and moved into his room and double-checked the date. Perfect; it was only two weeks away before his and Ciel's one month anniversary. He moved through his room, gathering up clothes and other crap and putting it into a bag. As he entered the hall, he saw the elevator open and Ciel walk out. He smiled as he approached, pulling her into a hug.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked as he swung her around, "you've never been like this."

"Get enough clothes and stuff packed for a couple of weeks," Zero told her, dodging the question, "I want to take you somewhere."

"Where are you taking me?" Ciel asked, smiling slyly.

"That's a secret," Zero said, and smiled as Ciel pouted. "Just go and get ready."

"What am I supposed to take?" Ciel asked, and Zero just looked at her.

"We're not going for a world cruise," Zero said, "but you shouldn't have to worry much about cold weather."

"Okay, wait here," Ciel said, and disappeared into her room. A few minutes later, she came out with a bag smaller than Zero thought she would want to take. He remembered whenever his mother wanted to go anywhere, she would have no less than three big suitcases full of things, claiming that she needed to be prepared for anything.

"Let's go," Zero said and, taking Ciel's hand, led her to the elevator, the two of them taking it down to the garage level.

When the elevator door opened, Zero and Ciel sped across to Zero's bike, retrieved and repaired after the siege where Omega resurfaced. Helmets with no back to them were lying on the seat. Zero picked them up and handed one to Ciel, placing the other one on his head. The back automatically closed, keeping Zero's ponytail free. Ciel did the same, before latching her arms around Zero's waist. With his bag in her way, she couldn't lean on her boyfriend, but a quick confirmation in the form of Zero squeezing her hand was more than enough. Zero started the bike and the two sped off.

Ciel tried to pay attention as the buildings sped past, trying to work out where they were going. Maybe a fancy hotel of some kind…the possibilities were endless. She was surprised when Zero ended up going outside the city, taking a path that Ciel recognised. It was the same path she had taken when she went to find Zero after his first meeting with Gate. The crater left behind from the Eve War. Was he taking her there? No, that didn't make sense; they had no camping equipment or anything. When they got to the crater, Zero slowed down, looking around.

"What are we looking for?" Ciel asked loudly, over the sound of the engine.

"Directions," Zero yelled back, before finding where he wanted to go and sped around the edge of the crater, heading for a small cluster of hills in the distance. The sun was beginning to set, and the world was a strange burning colour. Ciel had only seen this once before, and it was still as beautiful as the first time.

Zero slid the bike and brought it to a stop, turning off the engine and taking off his helmet. Ciel did the same, and Zero pointed.

"Down there," he said, and Ciel followed his direction and almost gasped. A small town, looking like a town out of the last century, was nestled down there, hidden away from the rest of the world. "Ciel, this is my hometown."

Ciel looked at him, wide-eyed. Apart from that one time, Zero had never mentioned his hometown, or even hinted that he'd like to come back.

"Why'd you bring me here?" she asked quietly.

"I came to a sort of epiphany over the last couple of weeks," Zero said, "that I haven't shared everything with you. Not secrets," he assured her, "or anything like that, but you've only ever known me as Zero. There's a whole section of my life that you don't know about." Zero took a preparatory breath before he started to explain. "My real name is Girouette McLaren; my mom is French," Zero explained, "and my dad is descended from the Scottish. Omega isn't my only sibling; I have a little sister, Alouette. Here, I was just a mechanic with a gift, not a Hunter or anything out of the ordinary."

Ciel drank all of these facts in. Zero was such an introverted person, that she could sense how hard it was for him to share all of this with her. "Do your parents know that you're coming back?"

"No," Zero said, "I wanted it to be a surprise for them. They're probably not going to be very happy when you first meet them, but you'll like them once they simmer down, I hope."

Ciel smiled, slipping her helmet back on and tightening her grip on her boyfriend's waist. Zero put his helmet back on and started the bike again, taking it down the hill and through the streets. The roar of the engine caused several people to come out of their houses and see two blonde figures ride a motorcycle down the street. Some of the older people guessed the rider's identity, if only because Girouette McLaren had never cut his ponytail if he could help it.

Zero was heading to his grandfather's old garage. Zero had run it after his grandfather died, when he was fourteen. He didn't know who ran it now, but he needed a place to keep the bike. He pulled the bike into the yard, where a young mechanic with dark hair leapt out of the old sheet iron building, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"The hell do you think you're doing, turning up this time of night!" he was saying, "There are these things called business hours, you know!"

"When old man McLaren ran things," Zero said, taking off his helmet and shaking his hair, "there weren't any business hours. You could turn up any time and get something fixed."

The mechanic stopped dead once Zero took his helmet off. "Girouette?" he asked, and Zero nodded. "HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP," he yelled, "HOW ARE YA?"

"Just fine, thanks," Zero said, "If my memory's still good, you're Daniel, right?"

"That's right," Daniel said, "I worked in the general store before you left. Who's this?" he asked, noticing Ciel as she took her helmet off and climbed off the bike.

"This is my girlfriend," Zero said, taking Ciel's hand as he climbed off the bike, "Ciel."

"Pleased to meet you," Ciel said, smiling. Daniel smiled back before looking at Zero.

"You always get the hot ones," he said, a little grudgingly, "but that's enough catching up; what do you need?"

"Just a place to garage this for a couple of weeks," Zero said, patting the bike.

"Oh, that reminds me," Daniel said, slamming a fist into his palm, "the big Inter-Town Race is coming up soon. We haven't had a decent entry since you and your big brother left. Interested?"

"Maybe," Zero said, patting Daniel on the arm, "but I'd like to see my family first. Where do they live now?"

"Big house at the edge of town, about a ten minute walk from here," Daniel said, pointing, "They didn't rebuild your old place."

"I didn't think they would," Zero said, a little softer than he liked, "I can trust you to look after my wheels?"

"Sure thing man," Daniel said, "I'll put it in now. Say hi to your folks for me."

"I will," Zero said, taking Ciel and leading her away. He stuck to side streets; he could see people looking around for him.

"Why are you avoiding everyone?" Ciel asked, looking at him with a little bit of concern.

"I don't want to explain everything to everyone." Zero told her, "In a small town like this, everyone knows everyone else's business."

That was a strange concept; one Ciel couldn't really get her head around. She had spent her entire life in Abel City, surrounded by the Hunters, where secrets were easy to keep.

'No wonder he's so good at keeping secrets,' Ciel thought, looking at Zero as he led her through the streets. In a town where everyone knew everything, it wouldn't have been easy for someone like Zero. She tightened her grip on his hand, and he responded with a slight increase in pressure on hers. In no time at all, they got to the big house that Daniel had pointed out, and in the fading light, Ciel could make out a little shape dancing in the yard, singing.

"Is that Alouette?" Ciel asked quietly, and Zero nodded. His little sister had grown in the past three years. But she was still wearing the same colours, pink, white and yellow, dancing around with the same stuffed animal. The song she was singing was in French, so Ciel didn't understand a word. But Zero suddenly started singing the same song in a loud voice, attracting the attention of the little girl. Alouette stopped and saw the two standing there, a big smile on Zero's face.

"Big brother?" Alouette cocked her head to the side, a look of childlike inquisitiveness on her face. Zero nodded.

"How are you, Ally?" he asked, and Ciel heard tenderness in his voice she hadn't ever heard from him before.

Alouette squealed and ran at Zero, who threw his arms out and let his little sister jump into them. He gave her a big hug, something the little girl returned with all the strength her little arms could muster.

"Giro, you're back!" she yelled, vicing her arms around his neck. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Ally," he said, before shrugging her off his neck and turning her to see Ciel, "Ally, this is Ciel. Ciel, this is my little sister Alouette."

"Pleased to meet you," Ciel said, slipping into the voice adults use to talk to children. Alouette just stared at her.

"I'm a kid," she said, "not an idiot." Ciel couldn't help it; she started giggling.

"I'm sorry," she said, going back to her normal voice, "I didn't mean it like that."

"That's okay," Alouette said, letting go of Zero and launching herself at Ciel. Ciel barely caught her, and the vice-hug the little girl gave her was enough to cut off her air. Zero laughed, before taking Alouette off of Ciel and putting her on the ground.

"Are mom and dad inside?" Zero asked her, and Alouette nodded, running off to the house, yelling "Mama and Papa, Giro's back!"

Zero took Ciel by the hand and led her to the front door, hanging open from where Alouette bulldozed her way through. The house was warm, and the inside looked like the sort of home Ciel always wanted to have. Zero took her to the kitchen, following his sister's cries of joy.

"Honey, what is it?" Ciel heard a female voice, with a slight accent, "what's happened?"

"Giro's back!" Alouette said happily as Zero and Ciel entered the kitchen. Ciel saw Alouette talking to a blonde woman in a red dress, an apron and a pair of oven mitts. When the woman looked up and saw Zero standing there, the shock on her face was indescribable.

"Giro, is that you?" was her first question. When Zero nodded, she cried out in French and ran at Zero, wrapping her arms around him. Zero returned the embrace, but looked a little uncomfortable. Ciel giggled at the look on his face, and his mother stopped and stood up, looking at Ciel with a probing eye.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Ciel," Zero said, introducing her, "Ciel, this is my mother, Vivian."

"Ciel," Vivian said, approaching and leaning very close to Ciel, peering into her eyes. Ciel leant back and shot a look to Zero, who gave her a 'give her a second' look. Vivian circled Ciel like a shark, taking in every detail of her appearance.

"How old are you?" Vivian asked Ciel, who looked a little affronted by the question.

"Um, I'm sixteen," Ciel said, "but I turn seventeen next month, if that's any help." Zero made a mental note to remember that. Vivian stood up and, after a few seconds, dragged Ciel into a hug, kissing both of her cheeks.

"Welcome to the family," Vivian said, "I hope my boy treats you with the respect you deserve."

"More than I deserve, sometimes," Ciel said, smiling. Vivian trilled like a bird, before nodding.

"As it should be," Vivian said, "Eric! Come down! Giro has returned to us!"

Thuds could be heard down in the kitchen as someone descended the steps. A large, burly man with dark hair and green eyes the same shape as Zero's entered, leaning on the doorframe.

"So, you're back, are you?" he said, almost indifferently. Zero faced him, looking frail beneath his father's bulk.

"Yeah," Zero said, "I had some time, so I thought I'd surprise everyone."

"You didn't think to contact us in the three years you were gone?" his father demanded.

"I was kind of messed up until I met Ciel," Zero said, "I didn't think about it."

"You could've been dead," Eric said, before laughing like a walrus, grabbing Zero and pulling him into a bear-hug. "Don't run out on us like that again!" Zero patted his father's massive arm gingerly before he was let out of the hug, where he drew in huge gulps of air. "Now, who is this?" he said, throwing his arm around his son and looking at Ciel.

"This is my girlfriend Ciel," Zero said, "Ciel, my father Eric."

"You're pretty," Eric said, and Ciel went a little red, "but can she cook?"

"Eric," Vivian admonished her husband, who looked a little sheepish, "Women from the city never know how to cook. Come," she said, taking Ciel by the arm, "let's leave the boys alone with their talk. Alouette, let's teach Ciel how to cook."

"Alright Mama," Alouette said, striking a pose as Zero was led away by his father and Ciel was brought to the oven, listening to Vivian's advice on cooking.

* * *

Only about half an hour passed before the food was ready, and Zero helped his little sister set the table. Eric sat at the head of the table, laughing at some of Zero's stories.

"So, they call you Zero in the city, do they?" he asked, when Zero revealed he hadn't used his real name in Abel City.

"Yeah," Zero said, "it sort of sounds like Giro, so I didn't have to learn to answer to a completely different name."

"Good thinking!" Eric chortled at his son's ingenuity, "All the people around here have been missing your expertise with machines, Giro. Daniel's good, but he's not you."

"Dinner is ready," Vivian's voice came from the kitchen, and she and Ciel emerged from the kitchen, carrying plates full of a roast dinner.

"Ah," Eric said, "There's a lot I love about your mother, Giro, but nothing beats her cooking!"

"Thank you, dear," Vivian said, kissing her husband's cheek before setting down next to him. Zero and Ciel sat on either side of Alouette, who insisted on separating them. Zero shook his head, but Ciel looked a little uncomfortable.

"So, Ciel," Eric said, hoping to make her feel a little more welcome, "Giro tells me that you're Head Navigator for the Maverick Hunters."

"That's right," Ciel said, looking at Zero, who just winked. "Only for the past couple of weeks, after the former head retired from duty."

"Well, time isn't a factor," Eric said, digging into his dinner, "What matters is you can do the job."

"We don't get many Mavericks out here," Vivian said, "so we don't really know much about the Hunters. In fact, I think the last time any Hunters came out this way was about three years ago." Zero winced, but he managed to cover it up well.

"So, Giro," Eric said, "you skated over it before, but what do you do for the Hunters."

"He's our Vice-Commander," Ciel said, smiling, "and he's only been with us for a few months. Our last Vice-Commander 'left' when he was found to be betraying us."

"Vice-Commander," Eric crowed, "at seventeen! That deserves a celebration!"

"It's not a big deal," Zero said, looking embarrassed, "really."

"Au contraire," Vivian said, "it is a very big deal, and we will make a very big deal about it! I doubt Oliver got that high while he was there. He never did say."

"You've heard from Oliver?" Zero asked, tensing, "when?"

"Oh, we get an occasional letter," Vivian said, "Oliver said a while ago that he left the Hunters to pursue a different career. In fact, only last week did he say he'd be coming back for a while. He said he had finally managed to get some time off from work. Oh, wouldn't it be nice if he came back while you and Ciel were here; then we'd have the whole family back together!"

"Yeah," Zero said, feeling a little sick, "yeah, it'd be great." He focused on his dinner for the rest of it, with idle chatter consuming the family, which as far as Vivian and Eric were concerned, included Ciel.

* * *

It was later that night, after goodnights had been said, that Zero and Ciel had been given one of the spare rooms that they had a chance to talk.

"Oliver is Omega?" Ciel asked, and Zero nodded. "But how could he get time off? Mavericks don't work like we do."

"I don't know," Zero said, "but mom gave me the letter that said it." He held up a piece of paper. "It doesn't make any sense, but it looks like he was fighting to write it."

"What do you mean?" Ciel asked. Zero handed her the piece of paper, and Ciel saw what he meant. Any time Omega said he'd be coming home, or mentioned the family, the handwriting was shaking. Anywhere else, where it was just vaguely about what he had been doing, the handwriting was neat.

"Like I said," Zero said, "It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe the virus is losing its hold on Omega," Ciel theorised, "we should go back to HQ and work this out."

"No," Zero said flatly, taking her hand, "I'm not ending our time off for a badly written letter, and I'm definitely not leaving my family to Omega's mercy." Before Ciel could argue, Zero pulled her into a kiss, their first since he had gotten back from Eurasia. When the kiss broke off, she leant into his chest, and they lay down on the bed.

"Nothing is going to ruin these next two weeks," Zero said, "Nothing at all." Ciel hummed an affirmative, before going to sleep in Zero's arms.


	12. Chapter 12: Family Time

HOLY CRAP UPDATE!

First off, I am so, so sorry to everyone that's been waiting for me to update this. I went through some crap that I won't bore everyone with, but suffice to say that the last...five hundred or so words of this chapter took me at least the entire three years since I last updated this fic. I will promise that the next chapter will be up this year at least, and I will do my best to ignore the crap that stops me writing to get this done so not only you all get to finish it as I want to, but to (maybe, nothing definitive on this atm) work on a Megaman Zero/X Humanus Machina crossover with my take (meaning, same characters but fitting the world I've created) on...you know what, I will leave you with that to guess (if I still have readers after this long). I will also apologise for this smaller chapter and any lack of quality for those expecting more.

For those who have read my stuff before, and to those who have just stumbled on this, I leave you with my customary parting words:

READ ON AND ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter 12: Family Time

Ciel, Vivian and Alouette were walking down the street of town, carrying groceries. Ciel and Zero had been at the house for three days now. They had kept quiet about Omega; Zero didn't want his family to know his older brother had become a monster, and he didn't want the Hunters to know that Omega was planning to visit Zero's parent's house. There wouldn't be any way to protect his family from both the Hunters and the Mavericks if that happened.

The day after they had arrived, Zero had been roped into riding his bike in the Inter-Town Motor Race, a competition between all the towns outside of Abel City in "anything with wheels and an engine," as Zero put it. So, while he was stuck prepping for the big race, Zero's father was busy organising the homecoming party set for next week. That left the girls stuck with the mundane grocery shopping for the party. Alouette was singing in French, proudly walking in front of her mother and her 'new sister lady', as she called Ciel.

"So, Ciel, tell me how you and my son first met," Vivian asked as they shopped. "Was it a magical moment?"

Ciel thought about it for a second. "Well, we met after he joined the Hunters," she said, "the first time we talked wasn't a romantic moment. But it was a group meeting; our entire squad met with him before we got any solo time. The first time we were alone," Ciel stopped and sighed, "it felt like the entire world just slipped away."

"As it should be," Vivian said, "How long until he courted you?"

"It was a while after that," Ciel said, "he came off a mission really depressed, so he headed outside the city to think. I went after him and…" she trailed off, and Vivian nodded understandingly.

"Giro was always a romantic," Vivian stated, "I remember when he first brought Alia home…but that's not my story to tell."

"What was Alia like?" Ciel asked, seized by a sudden curiosity, "Ze-I mean, Giro never talks about her."

"She was lovely," Vivian said, "but she…how do I put this? Alia had a tough time letting things go. I was afraid that she transferred that to my Giro, but you've turned that around. I've never seen him as happy as he has been when he looks at you. You have been good for him, and to him as well, I imagine."

Ciel smiled as she thought about it. It hadn't been very long, but Zero was such a part of her life now, she couldn't imagine it without him. Vivian caught the smile and allowed herself one. "I remember when I first met Eric. Oh, he was rough around the edges, but I softened him out." The two women shared a laugh, and continued their shopping.

Suddenly, Alouette stopped and turned around, pointing. "There's a car coming," she said, looking into the distance. Ciel turned and followed where Alouette was pointing. There was a large cloud of dust approaching the town at a high speed, but there was nothing about it that told Ciel it was a car.

"How do you know?" she asked, crouching down to look Alouette in the eye. The little girl just shrugged.

"I just know," Alouette said proudly, puffing her little chest out, "Like my big brothers know machines, I hear things." Ciel looked at Vivian, who nodded.

"My father had a gift with wood, able to make the most wonderful wood carvings," Vivian explained, "He past that gift through me to my children. All of them are talented at something."

"But I'm the most talented," Alouette said, "Coz I'm the smallest!" Ciel laughed, and watched as the dust cloud got closer. As it did, Ciel could make out the car at the centre of it; it was a Hunter cruiser. As the car entered the town, she recognised who was driving it.

The car slid into a brake, kicking up more dust. Vivian covered her eyes and Ciel turned and covered Alouette. The car stopped just before it would have hit them, shuddering as it stopped. When all three of the girls' party looked up, X, Iris, Palette and Axl all climbed out, a little shaken.

"Sorry!" X said, rubbing the back of his head, looking at all the people who had come flooding out of their houses to see what had happened. "Sorry about the noise. It's my fault; hope I didn't hurt anyone!" Everyone went back into their houses, and X sighed with relief.

"Dude, driving lessons," Axl said, shaking X's shoulders and a look of terror on his face, "they don't cost that much."

"Hi guys," Ciel said brightly, and attracted the attention of all four, "What's up?"

"Oh, hey Ciel," X said, turning and approaching the group, "Sorry we dropped out here unannounced, but Z didn't have his communicator with him when he left."

"Is there a problem?" Ciel asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, just news," X said, beaming, draping his arm over Iris's shoulder, "News we couldn't wait to tell you. Iris is pregnant!" Ciel had to let the information process itself, but when it finally moved through her brain, she smiled and said her congratulations.

"Mon dieu," Vivian said, before anyone else could react, "that is wonderful news!" Everyone turned to Vivian, and Axl was the first to ask.

"Um, we haven't met," Axl said, "I'm Axl. This is Palette, Iris and X."

"I'm Vivian McLaren," Vivian said, "and this is my daughter Alouette. Are you, perchance, friends of Ciel and my son?"

The group looked a little confused. "Your son," X said, looking at Ciel for confirmation. "This is…?"

"Yep," Ciel said, "guys, this is Zero's mother." The entire group was stunned at this; they knew he had to have a mother, but meeting her was a whole different thing.

"Wow, you're so pretty," Palette said, shaking Vivian's hand before looking down at Alouette. "And aren't you just the cutest thing?" she said to Alouette, holding out her arms for a hug. Alouette looked at Ciel, who nodded, and Alouette rushed into Palette's arms. Palette picked her up to delighted giggles from Alouette.

"Where's Zero," X asked, "he knows already, but still."

"He's at the garage," Ciel said, "preparing for a big rural town race tonight. We," she gestured to Vivian, "are shopping for his big party next week."

"Zero's having a party?" X asked, "Why were we not invited?"

"I didn't know you existed until three days ago," Vivian explained, "and Giro said he didn't want a fuss. Of course, the whole town is coming, so consider yourselves invited!" The energy in which she said it made everyone doubt that she was Zero's mother. But before they could judge any further, she advanced on Iris and Palette, who was still holding Alouette.

"Hmm," she said, peering at them with a critical eye, "you both seem devoted enough." She cried out in French, and then asked if they would help with the rest of the shopping. Out of their depth, the group agreed, and Alouette jumped out of Palette's arms and landed soundly, striking a pose. Both of them walked off, leaving the group to follow.

"Are you sure they're related to Zero?" X asked Ciel as they walked, "they seem…"

"Energetic?" Ciel asked, and X nodded. She smiled, "Wait until you meet his dad."

"He has a dad, too?" X asked, stunned. Ciel nodded, laughing. "I need to speak to Zero; where is he?"

"The garage," Ciel said, pointing towards the end of town. X thanked her and jogged off, searching.

"No, no, no," Zero was saying to a guy as X found him in the garage, "you don't directly inject the booster into the engine; you'll blow it clear into the sky. God, no wonder you guys haven't won a race in years."

"But it gives us more of a speed boost," the other guy said, "which is what we'll need."

"Races are never won with just speed," Zero said, "If that was the case, you'd have won already. You need the engine to work if you want to race."

"I'd listen to him if I were you," X said, attracting the attention of both mechanics, "this guy pilots jets like they're bumper cars."

"X, what the hell are you doing here?" Zero said, approaching his friend and shaking his hand.

"We came to give Ciel the news; Iris said she told you already," X said. Zero caught on immediately and nodded.

"Yeah, she told me before we left," Zero said, "Hope you two are happy. Do you know what the gender is?"

"We decided not to find out until the baby is born," X said, "Have some fun with guesswork for a while. So, what are you doing?"

"Trying to help the town win the big race tonight," Zero said, "We're removing and upgrading parts of my bike so it fits with the race requirements. I'm pretty sure the arsenal Douglas tried to put into it isn't going to be allowed."

"Yeah, god forbid you be able to protect yourself," X said. Zero shrugged and returned to the work. X stood silent for a moment, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Why'd you never mention you had family out here?" X asked, and saw Zero tense for a brief moment before getting back up from the bike and facing him.

"X, you're my best friend," Zero said, "but please, don't ever ask me that again." Before X could protest, Zero held up a hand. "I'll explain everything to you one day, but for now, suffice to say I lost someone here, and coming back took everything I have. Now, I have to get this bike ready for the race. Make sure everyone's there for me, okay?" X nodded, respecting his friend's privacy.

Hours passed, and it was time for the race. Zero and his town's "mechanics" were already on the track, and Ciel, Zero's family and Alpha Squad were in the trackside stands, restless for the race to start. Stands lined most of the track, which was fairly simple, with only three major bends. The competition was twelve other assorted cars and bikes, including one tractor with a massive cylinder on the back.

"This is going to be so exciting," Palette said, bouncing up and down in her seat. "I've never been to a race before."

"We have this every year," Eric said loudly over the other people, "It's a friendly race, for the most part. But this year, Giro will blow all of them out of the water!" Getting to his feet, Eric pinpointed his son and bellowed loudly, "GO GIRO! RACE THE SHIT OUT OF THIS TRACK!"

"Eric, mind your language," Vivian said, holding onto a squirming Alouette.

The announcer, a burly man whose name escaped everyone, stood onto the track and held a microphone to his mouth. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," he announced, deafening everyone at the track, "TODAY IS LOOKING TO BE A GREAT RACE. RETURNING TO THE TRACK IS GIROUETTE MCLAREN, TWO TIME WINNER OF THE RACES SEVERAL YEARS AGO. LET'S KEEP IT FRIENDLY, AND RACE!" The announcer stepped out of the way as the racers started their engines, except for the tricked out tractor, which wouldn't start. The crowd was going wild, Zero's family and friends cheering as loud as they could.

But Zero didn't hear all that. With the smell of petrol and oil in his nostrils and the revving of engines in his ears, he wasn't 'there' anymore. The only thing that mattered was the race; five laps of intense speed and adrenaline. Suddenly Zero was wondering if his reconstructed body still HAD adrenal glands, but then the flag came down, and the race began. Zero kicked his bike into gear and pulled the bike into a mono and soared ahead of the pack for about fifteen seconds, until a supped-up hot-rod and a heavily modified truck pulled ahead of him. Zero kept his third place as the modified tractor shut down and its engine fell to pieces and the other racers fell well behind.

Zero ignored the racers behind him as his hair whipped past his face, focused only on the ones in front. The hot-rod was the major threat; the truck wouldn't be able to handle the bends at high speed. At the speed he was doing and the turns in the track, Zero wasn't going to be able to focus enough to use his mechanical abilities. This was the way that Zero wanted it as he edged into second place over the truck as he pulled the bike into a tight turn. No special powers, nothing but him and his bike and against whoever was driving the hot-rod.

In the crowd, a single person sat, unmoving and focused on the race. Omega, dressed in civilian clothes, trembled with resistance. Looking much like Zero, except paler and with black circles surrounding his tired eyes, Omega did his best to keep out of sight. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to rip the Hunters sitting in front of him into pieces, but he couldn't. He needed to appeal to Zero, to get something resembling help, even if it was being locked up. Without that help, he wouldn't be able to stay free for long.

Back in the race, Zero and the hot-rod were neck and neck, with only two laps to go. None of the other racers were any good, but the hot-rod driver was as good as Zero. But thanks to reconstructions, Zero's reflexes were faster than any normal human's, and Zero slowly but surely edged forward, to the roars of his family and friends and his hometown. The final lap was Zero mostly trying to keep the lead, but in the last several seconds of the race, everyone was up on their feet cheering as Zero crossed the finish line, skidding to a stop. Zero's family and friends ran out of the stands and towards Zero, who climbed off the bike and punched the air with both hands, roaring with victory.

As Ciel practically leapt into his arms and the two lovers embraced, Zero's family and friends surrounded him and bathed him in cheers and laughter. Zero felt laughter as well, and felt years of depression and rage melt away.

Even with the looming threat of Omega approaching his family, Zero felt better than he had in years, especially when his father, X and Axl hoisted him up into the air and the announcer passed Ciel and his mother the trophy to pass to him. Nothing could compare to this feeling, which will be the happiest memory of Zero's for a long time.

Omega stood in the stands as the crowd hid him from sight, watching all this unfold. Even with his self-control eroding, Omega wouldn't intrude on his brother's happy moment. There would be time; Omega was stronger than Sigma gave him credit for.

Far off into the distance, two figures stood looking at Zero's hometown. One was wearing heavy, hard-edged armour tinged in purple, with long white hair and a savage grin on his face, insanity in his bright green eyes. The other figure towered over the purple one, tall and wearing something vaguely resembling a headdress or a crown, armoured all in black and looking like a strong man on steroids.

"So, this is where they live," the purple figure said, "High Max, let's go. We have our own reunion to prepare."


	13. Chapter 13: Party Time

HOLY CRAP UPDATE AND IT DIDN'T TAKE THREE YEARS THIS TIME!

Okay, just quickly, I'm going to explain something here that I'm not sure I made clear in-story. It was going to be in this chapter, but I couldn't find a way to put it in without it looking a little bit contrived.

Omega was almost always in the huge armour we saw him in, so no one ever saw what he really looked like outside of Signas and others high in the command structure. That's why no one placed the connection between Zero and Omega earlier.

Now that Word of God is out of the way,

Read On and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13 – Party Time

The next week was the best of Zero's life, and the lives of his family and friends. Running on the high of his victory in the race, the entire town was buzzing, trying to work out Zero's return. But Zero, for once, didn't care about what other people thought. He had his family back in his life, minus his brother, good friends, and if not the girl of his dreams, the girl he needed in his world.

Right now, Zero was sitting and laughing with his teammates and his father while Axl and X regaled Eric with stories of their exploits over the past few months. The girls were busy preparing food for tomorrow's party celebrating Zero's homecoming. The outside had already been redecorated with balloons, marquees, tables and chairs, but Vivian refused X's offer of asking the Hunters to help with catering. Zero's mother said something in French and looked to X like a very angry female Zero, so he kept his head down while she pressganged Palette, Iris and Ciel into helping her and Alouette cook and prepare everything for the party, which was going to be a feat in and of itself, while the boys relaxed. Zero had tried to tell his friends that his family was old fashioned, but they just didn't listen, so X and Axl volunteered to help in the kitchen and Vivian chased them out of it with a heavy frying pan while everyone else laughed.

"So anyway, Zero stands up, basically tells Elpizo to stick it," Axl was saying, describing the mission briefing before the Siege of Abel City, "And comes up with this CRAZY plan for us all to jump out of a perfectly good troop carrier several thousand feet in the air and DROP right down into battle. Needless to say, we won, but I don't know where your son comes up with this stuff!"

"Oh, Giro was always the crazier of my children," Eric was saying, wiping his eyes of tears of laughter, "it was a wonder Oliver could ever keep a handle of him in their escapades."

"Dad, don't talk about Olly," Zero said. Zero still hadn't told X and Axl that Omega was coming back, if he was able to at all. Axl would freak out and X would want to find him first. So, Zero and Ciel kept quiet about Omega's probable appearance, and so far, nothing bad had happened.

"Oh, don't be a stick in the mud, Giro," Eric said, slapping Zero's back and sending Zero forwards to head-butt the ground. X and Axl roared with laughter as Zero sat back up again, rubbing his now red head.

"Okay, settle something for us, Eric," Axl said (Zero's father had made it clear that they should all refer to each other by name). "Zero and Oliver, are they twins?"

"Oh, heavens no," Eric said, laughing again, "Oliver is two years older than Giro. All my children got their mother's looks and my belligerence."

"Some would call it hotheadedness, dear," Vivian said from the kitchen to giggles from the girls.

"Right, pay up, Axl," X said, holding out his hand, and Axl grumbled as he pulled out a twenty dollar note and handed it to X.

"You had a bet on whether Olly was my twin?" Zero asked, glaring. He'd be more insulted that they never asked him directly, but then again, seeing as Zero had a tendency to lose his temper and hurt someone, it was probably a good idea they never asked him.

"We have bets on EVERYTHING!" X said. "We make bets on who gets the most kills, who hooks up with who, that sort of thing."

Zero shook his head and stood up. "I'm gonna go get some air," he said and headed towards the door.

"No running away this time now," Eric said, and Zero waved, laughing as he went out the door.

'_God it feels good to laugh again,' _Zero thought to himself as he stretched, blinking as his eyes got used to the sun. Not for the first time, Zero thought himself lucky right now. After this party, they would all have to head back to Abel City and resume their fight, but for now, Zero felt content.

Zero looked off into the distance, and in his mind's eye, all the decorations for his party disappeared and he was looking at a grassy hill. Zero saw himself back when he was seven or eight. He had shorter hair then, and a gleeful smile, fighting his brother Oliver with sticks they'd found. His father and mother were sitting nearby, holding a baby Alouette, who was snoozing peacefully. He could still hear his brother's friendly taunts, his mother warning them to be careful and his father's loud prodding. Then his mind's eye showed him Omega, taunting him as Zero lay almost beaten in the Abel City streets. How had it all gone so wrong? Suddenly, Zero saw a solution to Omega's problem. It was brilliantly simple, Zero was surprised he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Hey you," Zero turned and saw Ciel leading his friends outside. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just doing some thinking," Zero said, wrapping his arms around Ciel. "Mom let you all go?"

"Everything that doesn't need to be cooked tomorrow is already prepared," Iris said, stretching, "Your mother and little sister are quite the handful." Zero smiled at that.

"So, big party tomorrow," X said, leaning on the wall of the house, "What's the plan after that? Back to HQ?"

"I guess so," Zero said, "Can't hang around here forever. Not when there's Mavericks to fight." The group nodded in agreement and Ciel leant on Zero's shoulder. Zero thought about his Omega solution, and decided to ask Iris now, while they were all there.

"Iris, have you had any luck making more of Lumine's virus cure?" Zero asked, and the group seemed surprised that he'd bring it up.

"No, Lumine destroyed all his notes on the virus before he left," Iris said, "I've had people comb what's left of his database, but no luck. Why are you asking?"

"Because I've just had a thought about how to make more," Zero said, "Won't the cure be in my blood?" Everyone looked at Zero, a little dumbstruck. Iris frowned as she thought about it.

"That…could be possible," Iris said tentatively, "I'd have to run a series of tests, but with the virus still in your system, it would take some effort."

"See that still bugs me," X said, "If Lumine could come up with a cure, why wouldn't he wipe out all of the virus?" No one had an answer for him. Ciel gave Zero a look, and Zero nodded slightly. Zero knew Ciel was thinking about Omega. But Zero wouldn't tell the others unless he had to.

It was late morning the next day. Vivian had gotten everyone out of bed well before the sunrise to start getting everything set up for the party that would start in the afternoon. Zero was allowed to rest because it was his party, but that didn't stop Alouette from bouncing on him to wake him up to give him a big hug. Zero watched from his window as Ciel passed on orders from his mother to the others. It was actually a little worrying to see how well Ciel and his family got along. Refreshing that he didn't have to go through the same crap as he did with Alia, but it was still a little concerning.

"What aren't you telling us Zero?" Zero turned and saw X standing in the doorway.

"What do you mean?" Zero responded. X looked about ready to fight, and Zero was now slightly worried.

"I've been watching you," X said, walking into the room, "Don't get me wrong, it's great to see you've grown from being an angry asshole into a people person, but you and Ciel have been having a lot of significant looks lately. And not the 'I want to take this somewhere else' significant looks, either. What's going on?"

Zero thought about lying, but that would be a disservice to the man he called friend. So instead, Zero showed him the letter from Omega. X read it, and his face went between concern to mild shock.

"Omega is coming here?" X asked, handing back the note. "When were you going to tell us that?" it was difficult to ignore the feeling that came with that accusation, but Zero did his best.

"First, because I wasn't expecting the rest of you to turn up," Zero said, holding up his hand and ticking off reasons with his fingers as he went on, "Second, because he doesn't say WHEN he'll turn up and three, since we found out that the Mavericks were using a virus to convert people to their cause, I figured he might be under its control and maybe he might break out of it long enough for us to give him a cure."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then he dies," Zero said, "I'm not about to risk lives on the off chance my brother could start being my brother again. But if he turns up, unless he hurts someone, no fighting, alright?"

X looked like he wanted to argue, and brown eyes met green in a long staring contest. "Alright," he said finally, "I promise, but I sure hope you know what you're doing, Zero."

"When don't I?" Zero asked, a little sarcastically. X and Zero shared a laugh, before Zero heard his mother shouting in French from downstairs. Zero bellowed a reply in the same language before he and X went down. Guests were arriving. Time for a party.

The party was a little unlike anything the rest of Alpha Squad had been to. In the city, most parties were loud with lots of music playing and young people gyrating on each other. Of course, most of the parties at Maverick Hunter HQ were organised by Palette for a grand matchmaking attempt of some kind so that sort of thing was expected.

Here, it was a lot of mingling with people, almost a high society party. Everyone was dressed up (Eric and Vivian had taken the liberty to buy dress clothes for the group, seeing as they hadn't bought any with them) and everyone except the group seemed to know each other. Zero, X and Axl were dressed in white shirts with dark pants and shiny black shoes, but the girls were all in individual dresses. Palette was wearing a short frilly green dress that had been handmade by the dressmakers in town, that seemed to match her eccentric personality. Iris was in a purple sundress with a matching jacket, just in case it got cold (Vivian insisted on the jacket for Iris, in the argument that if she got too cold it could hurt the baby. "Trust me, I've had three of them," was what she said when Iris started to argue). Ciel was wearing a pink cocktail dress that showed off a lot more skin than Zero had seen, not that he complained when he saw her in it. All three girls looked beautiful, and it was only as Zero looked at them fending off half-hearted attempts from some of the guys from town that Zero finally realised someone was missing from their group.

"Hey, Axl," Zero said, going up to his friend, who was discussing the best type of gun with some of the hunting enthusiasts, "Where's Layer?"

"Oh, we went down to R&D to ask her if she wanted to come with us," Axl said, "But she was kinda…busy."

Zero was confused. "Busy? Busy how?"

"Busy…with Douglas," Axl said, giving Zero a significant look. Zero caught on and went between shock, acceptance and when his brain supplied him with pictures, mild disgust.

"I did not see that one coming," Zero said, trying desperately to think of something else than Layer and Douglas's…liaison. Zero cast his eyes around for Ciel, or X or anyone else that would take the bad images away, but then his eyes caught someone he wasn't really expecting to see. Omega, dressed in dark street clothes, staring at him. Zero signalled Axl, who noticed him as well. The two moved forward, dodging party guests. Omega came forward to, and as they got closer, Zero could see that he was shaking. Zero had seen people on drugs shake like that. Withdrawal symptoms, that's what they were.

"Zero," Omega said, voice trembling, "Thank god you're here."

"Why are YOU here," Zero asked, trying to keep his voice down so no one else was alerted to Omega's presence. "Last time we met, you tried to kill and/or convert me."

"And the last time I saw you, you blew up a shuttle I was in," Omega sniped back, "we can quibble over who did what later. I need your help; you got over the virus, how?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Zero asked angrily, still keeping his voice down. He barely registered that Axl had left, probably to warn X and the others. It was all well and good trying to come up with ways to help his brother when he wasn't there, but now Omega was in front of him, all Zero felt was rage.

"Look Zero," Omega said, grabbing Zero's arms, hands like vices, "I am barely keeping it together. Gate's been experimenting, and Sigma doesn't need me anymore. I'm fighting the virus, but you know what it's like; it doesn't like being ignored." Zero remembered his experience, and concurred with Omega.

Zero looked around, and saw the group watching from the distance, Axl with them. Taking a deep breath, Zero looked back at his brother and really looked at him. Omega's face was drawn in and pale, his eyes bloodshot and dry. This wasn't the killer Omega, this was his brother Oliver, and he needed help.

"Lumine made a cure, but it was all used to get me out of my coma," Zero said. Omega looked hurt and shattered, so Zero continued with "But, Iris is going to run some tests on my blood, see if she can make some more. I don't know how long it'll take, but if you can keep fighting, I'll make sure you get it."

Omega relaxed then, letting go of Zero's arms and looking relieved. Zero looked over to the group and nodded once, letting them know it was okay. They all sighed with relief, and the group disseminated, except X, who gave Zero a look that said he wasn't letting Omega out of his sight. Zero knew that, so he took Omega by the arm and led him through the crowd. Zero was going to take Omega to see their family, but it was at that moment that the heavens decided Zero had had too much go right. It was time to reset the cosmic balance of happiness and suffering.

A plasma blast ripped through one of the marquees, and people started screaming. As Zero turned to the direction of the blast, two figures approached; one short and covered in purple armour, one monstrous and covered in black armour.

"GOOOOOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE, HOW ARE WE ALL TODAY!" The purple one shouted, and as he approached, the crowd thinned out. No one was running away, and the screaming had petered out. "MY NAME IS NIGHTMARE AND I AM LOOKING FOR SOMEONE. I FIND HIM, YOU ALL DIE QUICKLY. I DON'T, YOU ALL DIE SLOWLY UNTIL I DO, THEN YOU DIE QUICKLY."

"HEY!" Zero shouted, walking out of the crowd and leaving Omega hidden inside it. The purple one, Nightmare, focused on him. "Who are you and why the hell do you look like me?" Zero asked. He was going to ask "why the hell are you here?" but now he got a good look at Nightmare and saw that it was more than an uncanny resemblance; this guy looked more like him than Omega did.

"Oh, Zero, the hero," Nightmare said mockingly, turning to face him properly. "It's a pleasure to meet my benefactor and mortal enemy. I am Nightmare, and the tall guy behind me is High Max. But, introductions aside, I'm not here for you, I'm here for your brother, Omega."

"Well, you've got him too, Nightmare." Zero turned and watched as Omega strode out of the crowd, eyes fixed on Nightmare. The crowd started buzzing, and Zero quickly looked around and couldn't see his family, or the others, for that matter.

"Who is this guy?" Zero asked his brother.

"Nightmare is what Gate is calling a Reploid," Omega said, "Some sort of human/Mechaniloid hybrid or something. I wasn't really paying attention when he unveiled this monster."

"Oh, poor you," Nightmare said, "It's much better than that. A Reploid is grown from the ground up as a mix of your Reconstructions and regular organic tissue. Not one part of me or my friend here is purely organic, unlike you two, who still have very squishy non-enhanced parts." Nightmare's tone was unhinged, like he was barely stopping himself from just laughing at everyone. "And a Reploid doesn't just have to be grown from synthetic DNA, either. Any old sample will do."

"So, what, you're my techno-organic clone?" Zero asked, torn between throwing up at being related to this thing on any level and wanting to rip it apart right now.

"Hmm," Nightmare pretended to think for a second, "Yep, that's it. And now I get two annoyances for the price of one. But, a promise is a promise, and I promised to kill these people quickly if I found you, Omega. So that's what I'm going to do. High Max, kill them all!"

* * *

*gasp* PLOT TWIST! (I read the Roommates and Girls Next Door fan-comics and I'm emulating their style of communicating - sue me)

I was going to make this chapter twice as long with fights and drama and all that stuff, but I thought hey, why not use a cliffhanger?

I'll start the next chapter tonight and hopefully it will be up in the next few days. If not, I guarantee next week.

Thanks for reading, and I'll talk to you all again.


	14. Chapter 14: Bash Brothers McLaren

NEW CHAPTER! I promise I'll stop getting excited about these recent updates. I was planning on spending a little more time with this one, as well as maybe spending a little more time out of Abel City, but seeing as it took three years to get to this point, I'm going to move things along. But, I would like to thank Raxii for his/her recent reviews; hopefully you'll enjoy this one.

Anyway, that's enough from me:

Read On and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14: Bash Brothers McLaren

_Before Nightmare's arrival_

X was talking to the girls when he saw Axl pushing his way through the crowd. Axl looked worried, which wasn't unusual really, but when he was worried at a relatively calm party, it gave X a reason to be concerned.

"Guys," Axl said, when he finally got to the group, "We have a problem."

"What is it?" X asked, afraid he already knew.

"Omega's here," Axl said, and everyone's faces dropped. Axl gestured at where Omega and Zero were talking, and the group watched with bated breath. Ciel was the most worried; if Omega and Zero started fighting here, it would break their family's hearts…and destroy a good portion of the countryside, if their past knockdown drag out fight is anything to judge by.

But as the group watched, Omega grabbed Zero, looking desperate. X made a move forward, but Iris caught him by the arm.

"Don't interfere," Iris warned, and as X turned to look at her incredulously, she explained, "Zero might be able to talk him down. If you rush in, Omega could start hurting people."

"Why is Omega even here?" Palette asked, and Ciel, thinking correctly that the cat was out of the bag, explained quickly about Omega's letter.

"I get why he didn't tell us," Axl said after Ciel was finished, "But letting Omega this close is a bad idea." Ciel didn't answer, and the others fell silent as they watched Zero talk to Omega. Omega eventually let go of Zero, looking relieved, and Zero looked around until he found the group and nodded.

Ciel sighed with relief along with everyone else. The others dispersed back into the crowd, except for X, and Ciel went to find Eric and Vivian. Zero would probably take Omega there, before they headed back to Abel City tomorrow. But before Ciel could take more than two steps, she heard a plasma blast, and she hit the ground instinctively as the crowd began to panic. Ciel heard the booming, insane voice announce to the crowd how it was going to kill everyone there, and Zero respond. Ciel made a quick decision, and got up and went through the crowd, searching for Zero's family.

Ciel found Eric rushing Vivian and a distressed Alouette into the house. Ciel followed them, and had to quickly duck as Eric threw a punch before he realised who it was.

"Ciel, I'm sorry," he said gruffly as Ciel got inside. Eric locked the door as Vivian tried to soothe Alouette. "What's going on? Who were those two?"

"I don't know," Ciel said breathlessly, "But I need to get you out of here."

"Not without Giro," Eric said, dropping down on one knee to cover his wife and daughter with his large frame.

"Giro's going to be fighting," Ciel said, kneeling down to put a hand on Eric's arm. "Believe me; you don't want to be around when he starts." It was at that point that an explosion sounded outside, with more screams. The fighting had started.

Before High Max could execute his order, Zero moved to attack, sending a spinning kick into the giant Reploid's face, knocking him off balance. Omega rushed Nightmare, who danced away cackling madly. The crowd began to flee, which was what Zero wanted. If he and Omega could keep Nightmare and High Max busy, they wouldn't be able to hurt anyone. Flipping backwards, Zero ended up back to back with Omega, High Max turning on him and Nightmare facing Omega, a purple beam sabre drawn.

"This reminds me of that brawl we had back before I left," Omega said, drawing his own sabre. Zero, in a brief moment of hopefulness, had left his weapons behind before coming here. So, he simply raised his fists. "Do you remember, little brother?"

"There were six of those guys," Zero said, "And if I remember right, you turned up after they were almost finished beating on me."

"Details," Omega said, "You want the big one or your clone?"

"I'll take the big one," Zero replied, "You keep the other me busy."

"Done," Omega said, moving and engaging Nightmare in a fierce sabre duel. Zero went to punch High Max in the gut, and got an almost broken hand for his trouble. High Max's arm became encased in a large Buster and fired it at Zero, who dodged and got covered in dirt and dust as the blast left a sizeable crater in the ground. This was going to be difficult.

"Please, Eric," Ciel pleaded, "We need to go, now!" Eric looked at her, and for a second Ciel thought he was going to argue, but instead he picked Vivian up and Ciel led them out the back of their house. Ciel was relieved to see Axl, armed with his gun and X packing Iris and Palette into the patrol car he'd borrowed two weeks ago.

"X, get Zero's family out of here," Ciel said, letting Eric get Vivian and Alouette into the back of the car. Eric stood by the car, waiting for a driver.

"What about you?" X asked. X was armed with a gun as well, as well as Zero's LAR and sabre on his belt. Before Ciel could answer, Eric came up behind X and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you going to fight?" Eric asked X. When X nodded, Eric held out his hand. "I'll drive everyone out; you make sure the townspeople get out safely."

"Yes, sir," X said, handing over the keys. "Ciel, go with them. I'll make sure Zero is safe." Ciel wanted to argue, but knew better, so she just nodded. Ciel went with Eric while X and Axl ran off to the fight. Even here, in this quiet place, the Mavericks had come. Ciel had never wanted to hurt anyone before, not really. But right now, if she had Zero's power, she'd tear every last Maverick apart for this.

Zero was picking himself up off the ground again after High Max had punched him into it for about the fourth time in as many minutes. Whoever he was modelled after, they were tough.

"So, how does it feel to be a double traitor, Omega?" Nightmare was taunting his brother as they duelled.

"I was tortured and infected, you twisted piece of synthetic garbage!" Omega roared, punching Nightmare in the side of the head. For all the good it did him, Omega would have been better tickling him with a feather. Nightmare was cut from a different cloth; whatever twisted science Gate had used, it had done the trick.

"At least you had power!" Nightmare retorted as he swung wildly at Omega, who dodged as fast as he could. "Now what will you have? All they have to offer you is a lifetime in a cell, drooling as they pump you full of drugs so you don't kill them all if you get loose?"

"It's better than being a pet lab rat for a twisted organisation!" Omega shot back as the two engaged in a blade lock, Omega's snarling face staring into the gleeful madness of Nightmare's.

Zero was still busy dodging High Max's punches, waiting for some miracle to give him an edge. He got it in the arrival of a hail of bullets, distracting High Max. X and Axl, guns levelled and triggers pumping, gunshots ringing in his ears. High Max covered his face as the bullets ricocheted

"I hope you've bought something for me," Zero yelled with relief as he backed away from High Max, giving X and Axl clear shots.

"What, you mean these?" X responded by tossing him his LAR and his sabre. Snatching both out of the air, Zero brought the rifle to bear with one hand, firing a hail of laser blasts into High Max. With the combined efforts of Zero, X and Axl, High Max was forced backwards. Zero activated his sabre and rushed the giant Reploid, slashing at his neck. High Max punched Zero mid-strike, knocking him into X and Axl, leaving them in a pile of limbs.

"What the hell is this guy, a Mechaniloid?" X groaned as the three Hunters picked themselves off the ground.

"Some sort of human/Mechaniloid hybrid, according to Omega," Zero said, spitting blood out of his mouth. His clothes were ripped, covered in blood and he could swear at least one rib was broken.

"Well, that's new," Axl said, reloading his gun. X did the same, but before they could fire, Omega was knocked into them all again by Nightmare, leaving them groaning. Omega was unconscious, so Zero just heaved his brother off of them as they picked themselves up.

"So, this is the great Alpha Squad?" Nightmare said, walking backwards and forwards as High Max stood tall, face unmoving. "What a pathetic bunch."

"You like using that word, Nightmare," Zero said loudly, reactivating his own sabre, "Why don't you try fighting me?"

"Oh, I'm shaking," Nightmare said mockingly, "High Max, return to base. Gate and Sigma may need you." High Max, silent as the grave, turned and walked off.

"You guys had better get out of here, too," Zero said, "This is going to get messy."

"Are you sure, Zero?" X asked. Zero nodded, knowing what he was going to have to do.

"Take Omega with you," Zero said, "If he wakes up, just knock him out again. I don't need him awake and getting in the way."

"I just hope you know what you're doing," X said, before he and Axl picked Omega up and left as quickly as possible.

"And what are you going to do, on your own?" Nightmare sneered. "Turn glowing red and hope I bow down like Vile and the others you've defeated."

"Answer me a question, Nightmare," Zero said, "How'd you get your name?"

"I was warned not to get into a long talk with you," Nightmare said, "But what the hell, how could I resist that face? My entire being was built from the ground up with DNA taken from you during the siege, when you were unsuccessfully infected with our Maverick Virus. As a result, I'm naturally as strong as you were when you became controlled by what was called the Nightmare Phenomenon."

"So you can't use the Angel Phenomenon, then?" Zero asked.

"I don't need to," Nightmare said, "I'm stronger than you with that infernal light.

"Well, that's something," Zero said, before his body began to glow and red tendrils wrapping around him. It was much easier to tap into the power now.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Nightmare said, grinning widely before he charged Zero, who disappeared and reappeared behind him. Kicking out, Zero's foot connected with Nightmare's back, knocking him to the ground. Zero knew his time was running out; Iris told him that he only had five minutes before the virus started attacking him and he became about as bad as Nightmare was. This wasn't going to be a drawn out fight.

Nightmare kicked himself of the ground, and Reploid and Hunter began a fierce blade duel. Nightmare was every bit as good as Zero, but with the Angel Phenomenon powering his every strike and step, Zero was easily able to overpower his evil clone. Evil clones, now there was nothing that Zero could hear now that could surprise him.

"Why won't you people just lay down and DIE!?" Nightmare roared as he and Zero engaged in a blade lock, using all of his strength to force Zero back a few steps.

"Because as long as there are Mavericks," Zero grunted, forcing Nightmare back, picking up speed with every step, "We're going to be needed." Only a minute or so left, Zero kicked again and bought his blade out of the blade lock and down with lightning speed, severing Nightmare's head from his body. As the red light faded from Zero's body, he felt exhausted. He collapsed, his sabre disengaging as he fell back. That was a lot harder than it should have been.

"You idiot," Zero's head snapped up and stared at Nightmare's severed head. It was still grinning. Seeing his own face staring up at him, blood leaking out the severed neck, was not something Zero was prepared to deal with. "You think they'll stop with me? The Day of Sigma is coming, and you and yours won't be able to stop it." The light left Nightmare's eyes, but his face stayed frozen in that mad grin.

Zero heard a car approaching, and heard Ciel and his family. Zero looked up and saw them, but he couldn't bring himself to change his expression. Ciel said nothing; she just dropped to her knees and hugged him. His family surrounded them; none of them looked at the dead body that wore Zero's face.

Zero was sitting with a warm mug of coffee; X had notified the Hunters and the 17th Elite Unit had been dispatched to help with the clean-up. Ciel was with him, an arm wrapped around his shoulder. Zero was shaken by Nightmare and what he had said. It was easy to deal with a fight, but this was different.

"At least you're alright," Eric said, sitting across from his son. "Everyone got away and no one was hurt, thank god."

Zero didn't say anything. Eric clapped him on the leg and headed upstairs. Zero shook himself, and drank deeply from the mug.

"Are you okay?" Ciel asked, looking at Zero.

"The Day of Sigma is coming," Zero said, and Ciel frowned in confusion. "That's what Nightmare said, before his head finally died. Something big is coming, Ciel." Zero looked at her. "We're going to need some serious luck to weather it."

At that moment, Signas walked into the house. Zero and Ciel stood up, Zero saluting after putting his mug down.

"What happened?" Signas asked, and Zero quickly explained about Nightmare and High Max as well as Omega. When Zero finished, Signas looked like he was going to hit something.

"So, the Mavericks have a new way of making soldiers, one of which is now loose somewhere, and on top of that, I'm going to have Omega in my brig getting treatment for a virus that causes insanity and power. Anything else you need to tell me, Zero?"

"Just one thing, sir," Zero said, and he told Signas Nightmare's last words.

"The Day of Sigma," Signas mused, "Well, in any case, I think vacation is over, don't you?"

"Yes sir," Zero said, "But I would ask that I not report until tomorrow. I'd like one more night with my family."

"Of course," Signas said, "I'll expect the two of you tomorrow. I want Alpha Squad on top form to deal with this."

Zero nodded, and Signas turned to leave. Before leaving through the front door, Signas stopped and turned. "I hope to meet your family one day, Zero." With that, Signas left, leaving Zero to fall back down on the couch, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows. Ciel smiled a little at her exhausted boyfriend, before curling up next to him. At least they had the last two weeks to remember; hopefully Zero could edit the last day out, make it seem like a freak accident. Ciel didn't want Zero to go backwards, not after all this.

* * *

My, it's all getting rather heavy, isn't it? If this was a series, I would like to consider this the end of part one of that. Part two is going to shift a little in tone, what with the fact we're fourteen chapters in and so far its been a lot of small skirmishes. Expect more drama, more battles and more of the bad guys. I'm also going to start penning Additionals, chapters that will take place in between the others. So, expect to see days in the limelight for some of the other characters and maybe expanding on the two weeks holiday. It's not going to happen soon, but in between the next few chapters I'll start penning them.

Anyway, please leave a review. Is there anything you'd all like to see? Cameos? New Characters? Old Characters? I won't take pairing requests, because I've already got those planned. But anyway, I'll leave you all to digest what's happened so far.


	15. Chapter 15: Duties (Part One)

Okay, here's Chapter 15! Sorry for the (reasonably) long wait, I needed to plan Part Two out. Just quickly, if anyone wants to give Part One and Part Two their own subtitle, I would be eternally grateful. If you don't, I don't mind, they don't really need it. Also, this was going to a long chapter, but I don't want you guys getting bored half-way, so I split it in two; the second part should be up inside of a week, but no promises.

Read On and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 15: Duties (Part One)

It was still dark when Ciel woke up, lying on the couch. Zero wasn't there. Ciel got up, stretching and yawning. Standing, Ciel could hear someone moving around outside. Going to the window, Ciel saw Zero putting their bags by the bike. Ciel didn't say anything, but just watched as Zero put a hand to his chest, wincing. That would be where High Max broke his rib, Ciel thought. Going outside, trying to be quiet.

"Hey," Ciel said, and Zero started, whirling around before relaxing at the sight of Ciel.

"Hey," Zero said, walking up and hugging Ciel carefully, so he didn't hurt his rib. "What are you doing up?"

"What are you doing up?" Ciel countered. "You're the one who got beaten up."

"I wanted to get everything ready," Zero said, "so I had a little more time with my family before we have to leave."

"Well, it's not like we're never coming back, is it?" Ciel asked, and Zero looked thoughtful for a second, before agreeing with her. The two headed back inside and sat back down on the couch, Zero exhaling in pain as he did so.

"Zero," Ciel said, "Thanks for bringing me here. It was nice meeting your family."

"What, the invasion of the Mavericks didn't ruin it for you?" Zero said, smiling. Ciel smiled too, before leaning up and kissing Zero's cheek.

"I love you," Ciel said.

"I love you too, Ciel," Zero replied, before the two settled back down and went back to sleep.

****

Morning came, and Zero was chasing Alouette, who had come up and bonked him on the nose while he and Ciel were sleeping. Ciel was helping Vivian cook breakfast, which seemed to consist of mostly bacon.

"It's so nice to see Zero smile," Vivian said as she dropped more bacon into a frying pan, "You've been good for him. I know I've said it before, but you have."

"Thank you, Vivian," Ciel said, smiling, "It's been nice meeting you all. Hopefully next time there won't be any explosions." The two women laughed, and as they watched, Zero caught Alouette, who shrieked with delight as Zero heaved her above his head, then held her there as he tickled her. Alouette giggled loudly and began to wriggle, so Zero let her go and let her fall a little before catching her and putting her on the ground.

"Don't do that!" Alouette said, smacking Zero on the face. Zero, in a fit of exaggeration, made out like the slap was able to knock him backwards back into the couch, and Alouette shouted in triumph. Thankfully for Zero, Vivian chose that moment to announce breakfast was ready. The family (Ciel was included) sat down and had a great meal, enjoying themselves. It was going to their last meal together for a while, but they were determined to make it one to remember. Ciel had never been a part of a family meal such as this; her family was always quiet.

When breakfast was done, everyone went outside to give Zero and Ciel a proper goodbye.

"Don't stay away so long this time," Eric said, giving his son a bear hug, almost breaking another rib.

"I won't," Zero assured him, rubbing his chest. Zero kissed his mother on the cheek and bent down to pick his sister up.

"Do you have to go, big brother?" Alouette asked, tearing up.

"Yeah, Ally," Zero said, letting his sister snuggle into him, "But I'll be back real soon, and I'll bring Olly with me, I promise."

"Okay," Alouette said, and Zero put her down. Ciel turned to leave but was dragged into a hug from Eric, kisses on the cheeks from Vivian and a big hug from Alouette. Zero and Ciel waved goodbye as Zero fired up the bike. As they drove off, Zero felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. Zero hadn't thought about how much he needed this holiday and now he was headed back to the warzone.

****

In a secret place, known only to a few, Sigma, lord of the Maverick forces, sat on a golden throne. He could have been asleep, if you looked at him. But as Gate, his lead scientist and now one of his more senior members, approached him, it would be stupid to think.

"Speak, Gate," Sigma said in a deep voice that reverberated around his empty throne room. Gate knelt before his master, doing his best to appear solemn.

"I have news, my lord," Gate said, "Zero has returned to Abel City."

"Is this supposed to impress me, Gate?"

"Sir, removing him as an obstacle will pave the way for your day of reckoning, my lord," Gate said, "I've finished your special order; I can have your newest troops moved against him at…"

"Don't pretend to be motivated by loyalty, Gate," Sigma spat, opening his eyes and standing, his large frame easily dwarfing Gate's frail build. "You've wanted Zero dead for years, and now even more so he made your Nightmare experiment look the fool. If you want to kill him, do it yourself."

"I don't have the skill to match him," Gate said, keeping his head bowed to try and hide his shame at admitting this, "But my creations do, with Lumine's latest designs and the failure that was Nightmare. My children are ready to meet him in battle."

"I have my own plans for your 'children', Gate," Sigma said, "But," he walked past Gate, "If you think they're ready for a field test, I'll leave it to you to organise. And dispose of Lumine if he's finished with your designs."

"Thank you, my lord," Gate said, smiling as he stood up. It was an evil grin, one that shouldn't be on the face of someone who had just been reprimanded. "Now it's all coming together." Gate left the throne room, and there was a definite spring in his step.

****  
Abel City hadn't changed in the two weeks they'd been gone. Not that Zero expected it to change, but it was odd. Coming back, he expected something to be different. HQ was the same as well, except that people started saluting as he and Ciel walked the halls to report in.

"I have to head to the Navigator Room," Ciel said halfway through the elevator ride, "I'm pretty sure the system is still haywire after the Mavericks got in."

"Alright," Zero said, "I'll see you for dinner?"

"Of course," Ciel said, smiling, "Unless you have an existential crisis or something." Zero laughed, and as the elevator stopped on the Navigator level, Zero leant down and kissed Ciel as passionately as he could without anyone noticing. As Ciel departed, Zero found himself imagining Ciel in a white dress. Shaking himself, Zero pressed a button and the elevator doors closed, and Zero headed up to see Signas. Signas was in his office, sifting through papers.

"Vice Commander Zero, reporting for duty, sir," Zero said. He would have saluted, but Signas wasn't looking at him. Signas didn't respond, and just kept looking through the papers.

"Uh, sir?" Zero asked, looking concerned.

"Hmm?" Signas looked up, clearly only noticing Zero had come into the room. "Oh, Zero, you're back. Excellent."

"Anything you need me to do, sir?" Zero asked, standing to attention.

"I need you to go down to Training Room Seven and help The Colonel break in some new recruits; they're forming a new Squad, and I want to see if they're capable. Also, I think Douglas and Layer want to show you something, so head down to R&D…and Harpuia wanted to talk to you about something once you got back."

"I can do that," Zero said, "I also have a request; can we send a detachment to my home town? I can't be sure that the Mavericks won't attack there again."

"I can make that happen," Signas said, "You have my word. Now, if you can take care of those for me, I have these files to go over. Oh, before I forget, Iris is performing an autopsy on your…clone, if you want to have a look."

"I think I'll pass, sir," Zero said, looking a little queasy, "Seeing myself lying on a slab getting carved open, not my idea of a good time." Signas chuckled as Zero left; it wasn't every day you could tell someone they were being autopsied.

Zero took the elevator down to R&D, where Douglas and Layer were engaged in what had to be the clumsiest make-out session Zero had ever seen, and he grew up in a small country town.

"HEY!" Zero yelled after a minute of watching the display with a mild sense of wanting to throw up. The startled duo quickly attempted to tidy themselves up. "Okay, guys," Zero said, "Congratulations on the relationship upgrade, but can you stop pawing at each other long enough to notice other people?"

"Sorry, Zero," Layer said, looking sheepish under her long fringe. "We've got a present for you; new armour."

"New armour?" Zero asked, walking over to the pair as Douglas fired up his computer. "Okay, you've got my attention."

"Right," Douglas said, adjusting his glasses, "I've been going through Lumine's files, and I found something he was designing before he…uh…left. Something he called SERAPH armour."

"What does it do?" Zero asked, leaning closer and looking at the blueprints Douglas had pulled up.

"According to his notes," Layer explained, "Lumine wanted to design armour that could duplicate the Angel Phenomenon, so that un-Reconstructed soldiers and semi-Reconstructed soldiers could match…well, you and Omega." Zero didn't say anything, so Douglas took up the exposition.

"These plans weren't completed," Douglas said, "So I spent some time, and found what he was going to use to simulate the power, and extrapolate it into a power booster."

"Meaning, what, you're going to make my insane power even stronger?" Zero asked. It seemed like a crazy idea to him, but Douglas so far had only really complained about the way Zero treated his experimental jet, so Zero decided to cut him some slack.

"Well, Layer told me that Iris said you couldn't really use your power without going crazy," Douglas said, suddenly looking cautious, as if Zero was going to crazy right then, "So I thought that if I could increase the power…"

"I could keep up without becoming Nightmare me," Zero finished, and Douglas nodded. "Sounds good; have you made it yet?"

"Of course," Douglas said, and hit a button, and a wall nearby opened up and showed off Zero's new armour. The biggest change was the addition of white into the colour; the helmet was now white and red with a blue crystal instead of red and black. The armour was more covering now instead of segmented, with square shoulder armour and a green crystal in the middle of the chest piece. The armour on his arm now had white gloves and now covered most of the arm. The upper legs were still only the black flexible armour, but the lower legs were now large red boots with white and yellow highlights.

"Douglas," Zero said, approaching the armour, "this has got to be the coolest thing you've ever made."

"Layer designed it," Douglas said, looking at his girlfriend, who blushed.

"Layer, remind me to get you a pay rise," Zero said, before reaching out and picking up the helmet. Slipping it on, Zero felt the back close around his ponytail. Putting on the rest of the armour and feeling it click on, Zero could feel his entire body switch into battle mode. Zero was ready to start fighting again.

"How do I look?" Zero asked.

"Intimidating," Douglas said.

"I wouldn't want to meet you on the battlefield," Layer added. Zero smiled widely.

"Thanks, you two," Zero said, "Now, I have other things to do, so I'll leave you to get…acquainted again. And I swear to god," Zero added as he started to leave, "If you two start neglecting work, I will hose you off." With that parting note, Zero left, heading to Training Room Nine.

"Oh, before I forget," Douglas said, and Zero stopped and turned around, a questioning look on his face. "I have some new gear for you as well."

"What kind of new gear?" Zero asked tentatively. Douglas told him, and Zero looked at him. Not for the first time, Zero was glad that Douglas was on their side.

Zero was walking down the hall to the training rooms when Harpuia came running up. "About time I found you," he said, breathing heavily, "I've been running around to try and track you down since you got back."

"You could have just waited somewhere," Zero told him, barely breaking stride as Sage fell in beside him.

"Where's the fun in that?" Sage said, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Hit me," Zero said, and Harpuia put his hands together dramatically.

"Well, my squad has been keeping your patrol areas safe since you went on vacation," Sage said, "And it got me thinking; what if we permanently joined Alpha and Guardian Squad? One big team."

Zero stopped in his tracks. As he thought about it, Sage asking if he was okay because he stopped so suddenly, Zero nodded slowly. "I can see that working," Zero said slowly, "Tell you what; next mission, we'll do together, and if it goes well, we'll join permanently. Deal?"

"Deal," Sage said, clapping Zero on the shoulder, "Gotta go; Leviathan has a new technique she wants to show us. See you next mission!" Sage jaunted off, leaving Zero shaking his head. Sometimes, the people around here were so damned inconsistent. Zero kept going down the hall: Training Room Nine was waiting for him.


	16. Chapter 16: Duties (Part Two)

Two chapters in two days. Man, I am on a roll! Please let me know what you think in a review, or a PM, I don't mind, but I do like hearing what people think.

Also, this chapter is a little shorter than the last few, so I will try and expand on the next chapter, which will have more action and plot stuff.

Anyway, Read On and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 16: Duties (Part Two)

Zero entered the training room, and saw a line of recruits standing at attention. The Colonel, a big burly man covered in armour resembling an old style military uniform, was addressing them as Zero approached.

"You all will form the newly created Zeta Squad," The Colonel was saying, "It's a fast response unit for minor Maverick attacks, but that doesn't make it any less important than any other squad. Now, Vice-Commander Zero should be here any moment. And then we'll begin your training."

"No need to wait on my account," Zero said, and The Colonel turned around and beamed, holding out his hand to shake Zero's. "Pleasure to finally meet you, Colonel," Zero said, "Iris speaks of you highly."

"As she does of you, Zero," The Colonel said, saluting as Zero let go of his hand. "Recruits, salute!" The Colonel barked, and the line of seven recruits stood straight and saluted Zero, who returned it.

"Alright," Zero said, "which of you is in charge of the squad?" The group looked around, and one put up his hand, a plain looking man about thirty years of age.

"I am, sir," the man said, "Squad Commander Orion, sir."

"Orion?" Zero frowned, "Weren't you part of the 17th Elite during the siege?"

"Yes sir, wounded in battle, only just recovered with help from the Reconstruction Program," Orion said, relaxing a little. Zero clapped his hands together, and activated his helmet communicator. "Ciel, you there?"

"_Of course," _said the voice of his girlfriend, _"I've got a training plan all set; want to go toe-to-toe with the new guys?"_

"Sounds like fun," Zero said, moving to the centre of the training room. Ciel announced the training scenario, and Zeta Squad spread out around Zero, all dropping into various ready poses. Zero kept his legs evenly spread, arms at his sides. The Colonel stood out of the way, watching intently.

Orion made the first move, yelling as he rushed forward with a heavy right handed punch. Zero leant out the way and helped him along, pushing him along into two other recruits. The others rushed him at once, and using his superior Reconstructed power, Zero flipped out the way, letting them all collide with each other.

"Come on you guys," Zero said, folding his arms as Zeta Squad got to its feet. "Rule number one: Don't piss off the Squad members." Zeta Squad started using their brains, trying to lure Zero into several traps to pin him down. Not that it was going to happen; Orion was the most formidable of the team, but he was only thirty percent Reconstructed to Zero's ninety. After several minutes, Zeta Squad was sweating and breathing heavily while Zero was leaning backwards, grinning.

"Someone's having fun," a voice said, and Zero turned to see X at the doorway, armoured up.

"X, what's new?" Zero asked, walking over, before turning back and looking at The Colonel. "I'll let you handle the rest of their training, Colonel." Zero and X left, and X led the way to the elevator.

"Iris wants you down in Medical," X said, "She's got Omega there under sedation and she wants to try your idea."

"Using my blood to cure him?" Zero asked, and X nodded. "Well, hopefully it works."

Medical was as empty as Zero had ever seen it. Then again, most of the time he was in here he was unconscious. Iris had Omega lying on one of the beds, shackled to it and an IV in his arm, keeping him knocked out.

"How is he?" Zero asked. Seeing him lying there, that was his brother Oliver, not the monster Omega. He seemed almost peaceful now, not at all the wreck he was at the party.

"He's doing a lot better than I thought he was," Iris said, "I took a blood sample and it looks like the virus is breaking down in his system. It must take multiple doses to keep them at the sort of levels he must have been under. Hopefully, a simple blood donation will give him some immunity."

"I thought you said I still have the virus in my system," Zero said, and Iris looked up at him.

"You do, but I have been doing tests," Iris said, standing up and walking over to her computer, beckoning Zero and X to follow. "It turns out, that the virus has been getting weaker in the blood samples I took from you when you got back from Eurasia. But the traces of the cure, those are still intact. So I'll just take some of your blood and put that into Omega, and hopefully, the cure will help him break down the virus."

"So, I'm not going to go crazy again?" Zero asked, summing up that long explanation.

"No, I shouldn't think so," Iris said, smiling, "But I wouldn't put it to the test just yet. Give it a week, maybe two, and the virus should be gone." Zero nodded; being able to use the Angel Phenomenon with impunity and less exhaustion would be a great relief.

"So, we'll have two Angel guys on our side again," X said happily, "And the Mavericks won't have any."

"Seeing how hard High Max hits," Zero admonished X, "I don't think they need it. Omega said these Reploid things made him obsolete." Something else was niggling at Zero all of a sudden, something he couldn't put his finger on.

But, duty continued to call, so Zero donated as much blood as Iris thought was needed, and Zero went to leave X there to continue making the rounds and find something else to do, but then Ciel came on over the coms.

"_Zero, we have a problem; can you come to the operations room?"_

"What is it, Ciel?" Zero asked, and X gave him a look.

"_We have a signal coming out of a communications black zone. It's a special signal, one that only Lumine used."_

Zero signalled X to come onto the open channel. "How can Lumine send a signal from a black zone?" Zero asked as X patched his way in.

"_That's the problem; I can't get anything else other than that signal."_

"Alright, X and I are on our way," Zero said, and the two Hunters marched out of the medical bay.

Alpha and Guardian Squad (Zero put a call to Sage about the impending mission) had gathered in Alpha Squad's operations room. Ciel had put the mission briefing on the main screen, Layer and Palette coordinating the information flow.

"This area is a total black zone; I'm not sure, but the area was fought for heavily during the Eve War, so maybe one of the old EMP weapons was detonated in the area."

"Wouldn't that have dissipated by now?" Phantom asked, eyes narrowed.

"It should have," Ciel said, "But that's just a theory. The area has no outgoing communications, and this signal is one of Lumine's inventions; a signal that can penetrate any black zone as a beacon for rescue."

"You think it's Lumine?" Sage asked. Ciel shrugged.

"This is too convenient," Zero said, arms folded, "We come back, and suddenly one of Lumine's inventions starts broadcasting in a communications dead zone? I don't like it."

"No one likes it," Axl said, rubbing his head. "We're still going to go, right?"

"Of course we are," Zero said, "Maybe we'll finally figure out where Lumine has been."

The Squads headed out, and the Navigators moved into the Navigator Room, ready to give as much support as they could before the group ended up in the black zone.

The group travelled in three vehicles; Zero was on his bike, X and Axl were in a cruiser and Guardian Squad were in a modified truck. Leviathan drove with Phantom in the passenger seat, while Sage and Fefnir were in the back. The group were almost in the black zone, so the Navigators were busy mobilising some reinforcements just in case something went wrong.

When they passed into the black zone, it was almost too easy to track the signal's location. Zero was still uneasy about all of this, but he simply ignored it as the group parked their vehicles and kept moving on foot.

Ciel was right about something, Zero thought to himself as the team walked through the abandoned area. The area they were in had seen some heavy fighting in the Eve War; it was a total wreck. Half-collapsed buildings littered the way as the team moved through the rubble, headed towards the signal. Phantom was the best signal tracker in the Hunters, so Zero had him on point with his scanning equipment, while everyone else had their weapons ready, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"Phantom, how are we doing?" Zero asked, his Buster activated and arm raised.

"This area is being jammed," Phantom said, his voice soft and refined, "This isn't some left over interference; this area is being deliberately kept black."

"Mavericks?" Sage asked.

"Probably," Phantom said, "But the signal is strong enough to pierce it; it's in that building over there." Phantom pointed, and the group headed into an abandoned warehouse.

"Abandoned warehouse, in an old war-torn district," Zero said, "Anyone else got the feeling something bad is about to happen?"

"Like the fact Lumine is a corpse?" X asked, and Zero turned around and saw Lumine, lying unmoving in a pool of blood.

"Well, that's one mystery solved," Sage said, lowering his blades. "Now let's get out of here."

But before anyone could leave, there was a beeping noise.

"What the hell is that?" Axl asked, looking up and paling. "Oh, son of a bitch. BOMB!"

The warehouse exploded.


	17. Chapter 17: Killzone (Part One)

Hey all; this one was a little later than I wanted it to be, and as you may have noticed, I've split this one into two parts as well. Mostly because one of the new bad guys was going to end up with two introductions and I don't want to give you guys battle fatigue by reading one fight after another. So, another two parter, and I will do my best to deliver.

Read On and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 17: Killzone (Part One)

In the nanosecond before the building exploded, Zero felt a massive surge of energy build up in his body. When the explosion threatened to incinerate the team, Zero let that energy go in a massive burst. The red energy of the Angel Phenomenon blocked the explosion and the rubble, throwing it all clear as the other Hunters dropped to the ground.

Zero stood, breathing heavily as the rubble dropped around the group. That was the most energy he had ever released at one time, and he felt like he was going to pay for it.

"Zero, how the hell did you do that?" Axl asked they all got up.

"Couldn't tell you," Zero breathed, still winded, "No idea." And with that effort, Zero felt the world start spinning before turning black. Zero fell unconscious at Axl's feet, and the group looked at him with concern.

"Well," X said, dropping down to make sure his friend was still breathing, "That's different. But at least this time he only looks unconscious, not in a coma."

"We should move," Fefnir growled, readying his weapons, "Mavericks could be watching to make sure we died in that explosion.

"Good plan," X said, "but who's carrying Zero?" Everyone looked at the tall and muscular Fefnir, who groaned and let his weapons fold back and picked Zero up and slung him over his shoulder. Before the group could start moving, gunfire rained down on them.

"Scatter!" X yelled, and he and Fefnir ran in one direction, Sage and Phantom in another and Leviathan and Axl in another. The gunfire followed the groups until they made it into the cover of the buildings, where it would be difficult to get a clear shot. On the rooftops, three figures stood, two leaning down and one standing back. Two male, one female.

"So," the first figure said, a man with a wicked grin and covered head to toe in purple armour, with long straight blue hair flowing behind him, "They flee. Fools. Shall we hunt them, Dynamo?"

"Patience, Prometheus," the second male, Dynamo, said, covered in dark blue armour with flowing silver hair and mean eyes. "Let's see where they decide to go."

"Bah, always with the waiting," Prometheus said, waving his hand, "Let's go kill them! This is our debut, after all; let's have some fun!"

"They have reinforcements," the woman said. Her armour was coloured white and blue, and she held a green and gold staff, similar to Leviathan's weapon, but shorter. "They're approaching from the west."

"Well, Prometheus," Dynamo said, "I think you've got your opportunity. Kill the reinforcements, then hunt down the ones they call Sage and Phantom. Pandora, you go after X and Fefnir, and I will go after Axl and Leviathan."

"Sounds like fun," Prometheus said, launching himself off the building, headed towards the reinforcements.

"Oh, Pandora?" Dynamo said before she was able to move, "Sigma doesn't want him dead."

"Then he better wake up," Pandora said, before she fell backwards off the roof, flipping before landing on the ground. Dynamo shook his head as he watched Pandora wander off in the direction of X and Fefnir.

"Of course I would get the show-offs," Dynamo said, before jumping down himself. He had Hunters to hunt. Dynamo chuckled to himself; he made a bad pun. He'd have to keep that to himself.

The reinforcements from the 17th Elite had caught the explosion and immediately moved forward, powering up their weapons and moving forward in a staggered line formation.

"Alright people, let's move fast," the leader said, "Alpha and Guardian Squads could be in trouble."

"Or we could be marching to our deaths," one of the unit said.

"Shut it," the leader said. "We may not have those fancy Reconstructions, but we're still soldiers. So let's find the Squad members and get the hell out of here."

Before the soldiers could move too far, they saw a figure approaching them. At first, the leader thought it was one of the Squad members, but then he got a good look and began to panic, just a little.

The figure that was approaching was clad in purple armour, with red and white highlights over a flexible grey material. The armour wasn't the terrifying thing though; the helmet was a massive looking thing, with two purple fins sticking out the side, and a massive red and white fin sticking out the top. But it was the man, because now he was closer the leader could make out a gender, which was the most terrifying. Red eyes glared out from a pale face, accompanied by a manic grin. In the man's hand was a grey staff, with an energy blade emitting from one end; a beam scythe.

"Hello, boys and girls," the figure said as the Unit brought up weapons, aiming, "My name is Prometheus, and I'm here to kill you all!" Prometheus charged and the Unit opened fire, bullets and plasma blasts. Before the hail of fire hit him, Prometheus was encased in black light and vanished from view, the attack hitting empty space.

"Form up," the leader barked, and the unit closed ranks, forming a circle that covered every angle, except in the middle, which is where Prometheus reappeared, grinning madly.

"First blood is mine," Prometheus crowed, and spun his scythe around in a blur of speed and carved one of the soldiers into pieces and vanished again before the others could react.

"Okay, someone set a flare," the leader said, "We need to let HQ know we're in trouble." The unit got to work, but Prometheus wasn't about to let them get away with that. Prometheus kept blinking into existence, killing off one or two members of the team and then vanishing again before the survivors could react.

"This isn't going to work," the leader said, "Everyone, fall back!" The unit left the flare and fell back, but Prometheus just appeared and cut through everyone except the leader, leaving the two of them surrounded by limbs. The leader didn't hesitate, activating a beam sabre and adopting a ready stance.

"Oh, you're gonna go down fighting?" Prometheus asked, twirling his scythe around like a baton.

"Better than laying down," the leader said, before charging and swinging the blade. Prometheus was surprised at the ferocity the leader attacked with, going on the defensive for about a few seconds before bringing his scythe down and severing the leader's sword hand. The leader screamed and dropped, holding his bleeding stump of an arm. Prometheus held his beam scythe to the leader's neck, grinning.

"Well, that was fun," Prometheus said, "I hope your people honour your stupidity." With that, Prometheus severed the leader's head from the body and left to hunt down Sage and Phantom. Hopefully, they put up more of a fight then these people.

Axl and Leviathan were running, breathing heavily as they wound through the streets, avoiding gunfire at almost every turn.

"How many of them are there?" Leviathan asked, stopping for a second to fire a pot-shot from her staff, hitting one of the sharpshooters.

"No idea," Axl replied, firing off six shots from his gun and hitting three people. "We need cover."

"Hold on," Leviathan said, and slammed her staff into the ground. Water began to spurt from the ground, moving to about shoulder level before it froze into ice. The bullets from the sharpshooters began to bounce off, giving Axl and Leviathan almost perfect cover.

"How the hell did you do that?" Axl asked, reloading his pistol and glancing over the top of their new ice-wall.

"Elemental control," Leviathan said, "All members of Guardian Squad have an elemental control chip implanted into their neural system. Let's us do all kinds of things." Leaning her staff on the top of the wall, Leviathan took shot after shot, taking out sharpshooters left and right as Axl provided cover fire.

"Where'd the water even come from?" Axl asked as he put a bullet in a sharpshooter's head.

"Old pipes," Leviathan said, taking out another sharpshooter.

'_Ask a stupid question,' _Axl thought. Then, as suddenly as they had all appeared, the sharpshooters pulled back. Axl and Leviathan frowned in unison, but before they had time to think, a powerful blast of plasma hit Leviathan's ice wall and blew it apart, sending Axl and Leviathan flying backwards.

"Wow," a soft voice said, "I didn't think it would be that powerful."

Axl and Leviathan forced themselves up, shaking themselves. "What the hell was that and who the hell are you?" Axl asked as he took in the appearance of a new Maverick. This Maverick reminded Axl a little of Omega, but he gave off a different vibe than Omega. With shoulder length silver hair and purple, white and black armour, and a strange helmet design that made it look like he had a narrow-eyed bug nesting on his head. But this new Maverick was tall and muscular, and Axl had a funny feeling that he and Leviathan were on the way for a world of hurt.

"I am Dynamo, new ground commander of the Maverick forces," Dynamo said, "Seeing as you have my predecessor Omega locked in your prison."

"You're one of those Replica things, aren't you?" Axl asked, buying time for Leviathan, who had started to draw up more water from the ground. "Like that purple Zero and that

"A Reploid, yes," Dynamo said, before he drew a purple beam sabre with his left hand and his right was encased in a Buster. "Now, shall we do battle, or shall we talk?"

Leviathan was the first one to move, controlling water to attack Dynamo as a distraction as she rushed him, twirling her staff like a baton as energy began to pulse through it. Dynamo simply let the water hit him and focused on Leviathan, engaging her in a fierce hand to hand duel. It was clear to Axl, who was trying to line up a shot on Dynamo, that Leviathan, though a skilled hand to hand combatant (an S-Ranked combatant in the Hunter Classification System), Dynamo was on-par with Zero or Omega; that is, a different league entirely from everyone else.

Axl got a clean shot and fired, but it ricocheted off Dynamo's armour, and started a three-way fight; Dynamo engaged Axl with his Buster arm, firing plasma at the marksman, but dodging and still able to fight Leviathan with ease. Axl was able to dodge the plasma and continue to fire at the Reploid, but he was unable to make a dent.

"We Reploids are superior to you humans in every way," Dynamo said, smiling slightly as Leviathan forced Dynamo into a blade lock, "Let's see you try and hurt me."

"Don't underestimate us," Leviathan spat, anger in her eyes. "We're not going to give up just because you were grown in a test tube." That managed to ruffle Dynamo's feathers; the smile turned to a scowl, and the fight got that little bit more intense.

X and Fefnir were busy dodging heavy plasma fire; the sharpshooters on their tails had been replaced by mortar launchers of the Buster variety. Zero was still unconscious on Fefnir's back, bouncing along to the rhythm of the running Hunter.

"Can't you do your earth-control thing?" X yelled as the two ran.

"No time to focus," Fefnir said, "If Zero was awake, he could do his Angel thing and take these guys out."

"Man," X said between breaths, "Zero picked a fine time to fall asleep." The two kept running, and eventually the mortar fire stopped.

"Can we stop running yet?" Fefnir asked, "Zero's kind of heavy."

"Not until we can regroup, or we collapse." X said. Of course Fate would intervene and have two long plasma streams cut right in front of the pair, stopping them in their tracks.

"Oh, come on!" X said, whirling around, his Busters encasing his arms. Fefnir, after letting Zero fall to the ground, activated his own plasma cannons and planting his feet firmly. A figure was floating above them, two small cannons flying around it. The figure floated almost lazily towards them, before it dropped and revealed itself to be a woman with a mean face, red eyes and covered head to toe in white and blue armour, holding a staff. The two cannons flew back to her and clicked into place on her ornate helmet.

"Hello," the woman said, "My name is Pandora. I'm going to kill you."

"Oh, really?" X said, "I'm X, and I'm going to…I have no one-liners coming to mind. Fefnir?" Fefnir roared and charged, firing two powerful blasts of plasma at Pandora. The Maverick woman jumped up, easily dodging them, and took two plasma blasts to the chest from X, who used Fefnir's distraction to predict Pandora's movement and knock her clean out of the sky.

"Oh, this should be fun," Pandora said as she picked herself up from the ground. "And here I was, thinking Gate was overestimating you all." Pandora's cannons detached from her head, and she charged.

It was times like these, X missed the simplicity of not having to fight the Maverick's higher-ups.


	18. Chapter 18: Killzone (Part Two)

Well, sorry for the late update, but I've had a hell of a few weeks. But, the good news is in between dealing with work and other life stuff, I've started planning the two sequels for Humanus Machina that I want to write. That is, if you guys WANT sequels. But anyway, I'll let you guys read this chapter, so check out the bottom notes for the titles of said sequels.

Read On and Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 18: Killzone (Part Two)

"This is getting ridiculous," Sage said as he and Phantom cut through Maverick troopers. Unlike the others, who were stuck on the ground, Sage simply flew Phantom and himself up onto the rooves of the buildings and killed their way through the troopers, attempting to get to one of the other groups. Sage, wielding his two short beam sabres, was easily slashing his way through the rank and file, while Phantom simply used his Shadow abilities to blink out of the way of an attack, then reappear behind his attacker and knife them with his beam shuriken before throwing it and watching it carve its way through Mavericks.

"I know, it's like they're just throwing themselves at us," Phantom said as he and Sage went back to back. They got ready for the next wave, but before they could, someone in purple armour blinked into existence in front of them, almost in exactly the same way as Phantom can. The Maverick troops stopped in their tracks, looking at the new arrival with fear and apprehension.

"You can all go," the man said with malice, and the Maverick troopers ran away like deer from a lion. Sage and Phantom moved to stand beside each other, focusing on their new opponent.

"So, who are you?" Sage asked, switching to a reverse grip on his sabres.

"I am Prometheus," Prometheus said, and Sage could feel cold rage dripping from his voice. "I'm going to kill the both of you now; I hope you put up more of a fight then your lousy reinforcements." Before Sage could ask what happened to the men of the 17th Elite, Prometheus activated his beam scythe and rushed Sage, who was barely able to block the attack. Sage could feel how strong Prometheus was; it was like trying to block five Fefnir's.

"What the hell are you?" Sage grunted as he tried to force Prometheus away from him; Phantom had vanished from existence. Prometheus didn't budge; it was like trying to move a tank. Sage had watched Fefnir flip a tank once, but that was a bet and the tank wasn't exactly trying to kill him.

"Better than you," Prometheus snarled, face twisted in a mad grin. Before Prometheus made mincemeat of Sage, Phantom appeared out of nowhere using his Shadow power and delivered a flying kick to Prometheus's face. Prometheus went flying, falling over the edge of the building.

"Let's move before he gets back up," Phantom said. Sage didn't even bother responding; the two started bounding over buildings, headed towards where they thought X and Fefnir were, but before they got very far, Prometheus appeared in front of them, knocking the two of them to the ground with a double clothesline.

Phantom was the first up, throwing his beam shuriken at Prometheus and drawing a beam dagger. Phantom was faster than Prometheus; the shuriken caught him off guard and Phantom jumped up and stabbed at Prometheus's neck. Prometheus moved at the last second and only got cut, but before he could retaliate, Phantom had bounced backwards and Sage came forward at high speed, tackling Prometheus to the ground. As Sage scrambled backwards, Prometheus clambered up, breathing heavily with a hand at his bleeding neck.

As Sage and Phantom prepared for their next plan, Prometheus took a look at the sticky red liquid that was currently flowing down his armour. "So, this is what my own blood looks like," Prometheus said mistily, his eyes lighting up like a child who's just taken their first bite of chocolate. Licking at the blood, Prometheus frowned and spat it back out. "Can't say I like the taste of it."

"What sort of sick person ARE you?" Sage asked incredulously, drawing his beam sabres.

"I am the genetic son of Sigma, you worthless piece of trash," Prometheus said, readying his beam scythe, looking like some ancient drawing of death. With that one sentence, Sage suddenly found himself wondering if his armour could process urine. Prometheus roared and charged, and the two Hunters prepared themselves for the fight of their lives.

On another front, X and Fefnir were currently embroiled in a thorough ass-kicking at the hands of Pandora. Her floating cannons made life difficult enough, but because they had to focus on those as well as their Maverick opponent, they ended up getting attacked at close quarters.

"Okay, we need a new plan," X groaned as he picked himself up from the ground.

"I agree," Fefnir grunted, watching Pandora and her cannons wait for them to make the first move. "She's playing with us, and I don't like that."

"Been a long time since a girl has paid you this much attention, isn't it Fefnir?" Pandora called out. Fefnir ignored her; this woman liked to talk…a lot.

"Okay, I have a plan," Fefnir said, and before X could ask what it was, Fefnir charged forward, his cannons shifting into battering ram mode. X caught on almost too late, bringing his Busters up and firing at Pandora's floating cannons so they wouldn't incinerate Fefnir as he charged.

Pandora almost took a battering ram to the face because she was surprised at the shift in tactics; Fefnir almost never attacked at close range. She'd have words with Gate about their training if she didn't have that crucial detail. But, Pandora was a lot faster and a lot more flexible than Fefnir, and dodging and deflecting was very easy. But now she was on the defensive, and that was what mattered to Fefnir. Switching one ram back to cannon mode, he fired a powerful blast of plasma at Pandora while swinging at her with the other arm, forcing her to choose which attack she dealt with.

Pandora chose the plasma, cartwheeling over the blast, but not before Fefnir flicked the blast upward, vaporising her left arm. The Maverick woman screamed as she fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. The cannons suddenly fell out of the air, leaving X wondering what the hell had just happened, before noticing what Fefnir did.

"I'd say a little over the top there," X said, walking up while drawing heavy gulps of air, "But considering the workout we just had, I don't blame you."

"You idiots," Pandora hissed, grasping at her now vacant shoulder, "You think this is the end of me?"

"No," Fefnir said, levelling his cannon at her head, "But it will be."

"Not on my watch," another, more rage-filled voice said behind the two Hunters. X and Fefnir turned and saw Prometheus standing behind them, holding a struggling Sage with a choke-hold, and Phantom on the ground beneath his foot.

"Sage, Phantom," Fefnir said, before charging and getting Sage thrown into him, knocking the both of them to the ground. Prometheus then kicked Phantom into the two of them, leaving the Guardian Squad members in a pile. X was now on his own between a pissed Prometheus and an injured but probably still deadly Pandora.

"So, you're X," Prometheus said, circling around him towards Pandora "the one that gave Sigma so much trouble." Ignoring X and turning towards the fallen Pandora, Prometheus asked "Are you alright, sister?"

"I'll be fine," Pandora groaned, forcing her way up with Prometheus's help. Prometheus almost wore a tender expression, before turning to face X again. X noticed that the bleeding from Pandora's arm had stopped; they must have the same sort of emergency procedures the Hunters did when they lost limbs.

"So, sibling Mavericks," X said, trying to buy some time. "How did they manage that?"

"He's playing for time," Pandora said, "Just kill him and we can take Zero and be gone from here."

"Not yet," Prometheus said, "I want to play with my food a little. We're Reploids," he said, addressing X's question, "the genetic children of Sigma, with some other DNA thrown in for good measure."

"Oh, that's just great," X said despairingly, "Not only do we get super-powered clones, but they just HAD to be super-powered clones of a mad-man."

"That's our father you're talking about," Prometheus growled. X knew he'd probably die for that comment, but he'd brought enough time for the Guardian Squad (minus Leviathan) to get back on their feet.

"So who's this asshole?" Fefnir asked, shaking himself.

"That's Prometheus," Sage said, "Who's yours?"

"Pandora," Fefnir said, readying his weapons. Prometheus readied his scythe and charged, but Sage met him first, blocking his strike and activating his boosters in an attempt to push Prometheus back. Prometheus dug his heels in and anchored himself, creating a stand-still. Pandora activated her cannons again, and Phantom engaged her in close combat; even with only one arm, she was still a formidable opponent, easily able to keep pace with Phantom while Fefnir and X reengaged her cannons, becoming engaged in an epic game of Dodge the Laser. All the while, Zero lay unconscious, somehow unhurt by all the carnage in the small area.

"This is getting ridiculous," Sage said as he held his ground against the more powerful Prometheus. "Can we get some help over here?"

It was at that particular moment that Dynamo, pursued by Axl and Leviathan on a column of water, entered the fray.

"Oh, there you two are," Dynamo said, bored. "Why aren't these ones dead yet?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Dynamo," Pandora grunted as she smacked Phantom away with her staff.

"These two are stronger than I thought," Dynamo said, even as Leviathan attacked him again, with Axl providing fire support with his guns. "I believe it's time we unveil our true power." With that, Dynamo's armour shifted slightly, deploying several small fins, and he began to glow with purple light. In an instant, Dynamo had dispatched Leviathan by punching her in the gut and knocking Axl to the ground. Before the others could react, Pandora glowed with white light, her armour shifting in the same way as Dynamo's. Her cannons opened fins, and an energy wall appeared, blocking the rest of the team from helping Leviathan and Axl.

"This is the power of the SERAPH armour," Dynamo said, standing on Axl's chest and leaning down as he pressed hard. Axl grunted and coughed, unable to scream from the pressure. "Lumine's last great innovation before our lord Sigma ended his worthless life. Now, I end yours." Holding his beam sabre over Axl's face, Dynamo readied himself, savouring the moment before bringing the sabre down-

PHZZZT!

Something blocked Dynamo's sabre and Axl looked up to see a blazing green sabre holding back Dynamo's purple one. Looking up more, Axl saw his friend Zero, awake and face dark with fury.

"That's my friend you just tried to kill," Zero said, before glowing red and driving a powerful punch that sent Dynamo flying. The red energy of Zero's Angel Phenomenon glowed more brightly than Axl had ever seen it, and he could feel Zero's rage from it. Axl scrambled backwards, getting up and rushing over to Leviathan to make sure she was alright.

"Everyone stay back," Zero said, voice loud and commanding. "These three are mine."

"So, you're awake," Prometheus said, activating his SERAPH armour, glowing with black light. "Let's see what you're made of." Prometheus rushed Zero, beam scythe spinning, the Maverick laughing maniacally. Zero raised his hand and a blast of red light shot out of his palm, sending Prometheus backwards.

"Let my friends go and leave," Zero said to Pandora, who looked ready to either fight or flee. "Or you can die here." As a demonstration of power, Zero let his energy flare, ripping at the ground beneath him. Pandora, very quickly, decided it would be worth fighting another day and deactivated her armour, her cannons disabling the energy shield and she retreated, Prometheus following her after giving a dark look to Zero that he returned in full.

Instead of following his compatriots, Dynamo hesitated and stared at Zero. "I can see why Sigma wants you so badly," he said, before following his allies; Prometheus grabbed him and the three Mavericks blinked out of existence.

Zero let the energy fade away, a little out of breath but not about to pass out again. The others came and Zero was assaulted with questions and praise. But Zero was preoccupied with the new Mavericks. He had his own questions, but they needed to contact Hunter HQ as soon as they were out of the black zone.

This war was becoming a lot more complicated.

* * *

Well, not as long as I thought it would be, but I am going to try and increase the length of the chapters so we don't have any more of these parts. Anyway, like I said, I will now reveal the names of the sequels. I'm going to start writing them in parallel with the later chapters of this story, but I won't start publishing them until I've finished this one.

The first sequel is Megaman Zero X: Rockman Awakens and the second is Megaman Zero X: Rise of the Biometals.

Let me know what you think about the chapter and the sequels in a review, or a PM if you want a direct response from me.

Next chapter: The Calm


	19. Chapter 19: The Calm

Chapter 19: The Calm

Alpha and Guardian Squad, after being patched up by Iris in Medical, were gathered in a briefing room. One long table with the members of the teams sitting opposite each other, with Signas at the head of the table. Ciel and the Alpha Squad Navigators had prepared a holographic display of the battle footage from the black zone, taken from the helmet cameras of all present and those of the 17th Elite soldiers that died fighting Prometheus.

"Alright," Signas said, his deep voice weary, "I want to know everything."

The two teams looked at each other, and Phantom rolled his eyes and began the explanation. It took about twenty minutes, with the others chiming in as necessary, except Zero, who was only awake for the final part of the battle. Signas remained quiet throughout their explanation, before standing and turning to look at the footage. It was showing Prometheus's slaughter of the 17th's soldiers, the footage looking something like a bad horror movie.

"So, in the span of a few hours," Signas said, the anger in his voice clear to all present, "Lumine is found dead, three new super-powerful Mavericks turn up with his armour designs and make utter mincemeat of my men, and to top it all off, my top teams can barely fend them off. Would SOMEONE like to enlighten me on how we can turn this situation around?" Signas turned, and the assembled Hunters didn't say anything.

"I need to talk to Omega," Zero said, attracting attention to him.

"And why is that, Zero?" Signas asked, doing his best to remain calm.

"Because," Zero said, "watching this footage makes it clear that these three have barely seen the light of day, let alone combat."

"How can you see that?" Leviathan asked, confused.

"Because if they knew how tough a fight it would be," Zero said, "They'd have just used the SERAPH armour at the start and killed us all. Instead, they let you push them to the brink and then unveiled it."

Axl was the first to catch on. "So they've been around awhile, probably trained, and then given a go ahead to show themselves."

"Exactly, and Omega has only just left, so if anyone knows about them, it's him." Zero said, and the others nodded, except X.

"That doesn't make any sense;" he said, "If they've been around long enough to be trained to that level, why didn't the Mavericks just use Reploids at the beginning?"

"We have a theory about that," Ciel said, before gesturing to Palette, "Palette's the one who figured it out." Everyone looked at Palette, and the constant exhibitionist blushed bright red, embarrassed.

"Well," Palette said, "I was going over what happened with Nightmare and High Max, and I think I figured it out. You see, they were both super powerful, but they didn't really have any special skills; Nightmare was just Zero with the good stuff removed. I think this Reploid stuff is only recent, sort of a last ditch attempt to replenish their fighting forces. Besides, I'm sure that there's some other limit, or they'd just make a hundred Zero's or Omega's and attack en masse, instead of vague references to this Day of Sigma thing."

Everyone looked at Palette in amazement. "I knew there was a reason I loved you," Axl said, and it was his turn to blush and try and hide his face when everyone looked at him.

"So, what's the plan?" Signas asked, sitting back down.

"We need to upgrade," X said, "No way are we going to be able to match them as is."

"We seemed to do a good job," Fefnir said, "apart from their SERAPH armour, it was almost over. We just need a slight edge."

"I was hoping we could get some of those SERAPH suits," Sage said, looking over at the Navigators.

"Not possible," Layer said, "Douglas and I only have incomplete plans, and a small power booster that might take the edge off, but we don't have the time for fully constructed suits, especially if they plan on attacking soon."

"Do a retrofit of their armour," Zero said, "Install the power booster and reinforce the armour so the extra power doesn't fry their systems."

"We…didn't think of that," Layer said, rushing off, presumably to talk to Douglas about it.

"Okay, so that plan is to gain an edge and be prepared should these three reappear," Signas said, "Good, only one thing left; I'm formalising Zero's request of a new team including you all. You are now Mega Squad. Cheesy, I know, but it's the best I could do. Dismissed." Signas rose and left, and Mega Squad looked at each other and laughed.

"Well, we're now one big team," Sage said, "hopefully we can work together without too much hassle."

"Let's hope so," Zero said, before getting up. He looked at Ciel, who smiled at him, and he returned it, before leaving. It was time for a chat with his brother.

A Hunter prison cell is a section of floor surrounded by electrified force fields. In the event of a power outage, each cell is powered by a small nuclear battery that can keep the criminals contained. The prison level is deep below the R&D department, and as Zero stepped out of the elevator, he found it almost totally empty, save for a single guard. It brought home something that Zero hadn't thought about before; the Hunters took no prisoners.

"Guard, report," Zero said as he approached.

"Omega's up the back, sir," the guard said, saluting, "Commander Signas wanted him as far away from the entrance as possible."

"Alright, stay on alert, just in case," Zero said, walking past. Zero had to turn a corner at the end of the long hallway, and sitting in his cell was his brother.

Omega looked less stressed than the last time that Zero saw him awake. Almost at peace, but preoccupied. Omega was turned away from Zero, who had to clear his throat. When Omega turned, Zero felt a little lighter; his and Iris's plan had worked. There was no trace of malice in Omega's eyes.

"Brother," Omega said, standing and coming to the edge of his cell, careful not to touch the energised barrier between them. "I was wondering if you were coming to visit me."

"I was busy almost being killed earlier," Zero said, smiling in spite of himself.

"What? What happened?" Omega said, concerned.

"Massive ambush in the black zone," Zero said, and watched as Omega recognised the area. "You know about it?"

"Yeah, the black zone is a Maverick construct," Omega said, "Low level jamming field over a wide area, designed for ambush. I was supposed to lead that trap, or I would have."

"Well, they've already replaced you," Zero said, "Three Reploids that go by the names Dynamo, Prometheus and Pandora." Omega's eyes flashed with recognition. "Who are they?"

"Gate's pet project," Omega said, "Gate's been trying to get Reploids working for years. Those three are the result of him and Lumine working together, using knowledge of the Reconstruction Program and the old robot designs from the Eve War."

"What else can you tell me?" Zero asked. Omega hesitated, before he decided that Zero was going to find out sooner or later.

"All three are combined clones, using Sigma's DNA as a base. Pandora uses some woman I don't know, Dynamo has Gate's and Prometheus has…yours."

Zero didn't really know how to react. He blinked a couple of times, mouth open slightly. "I'm sorry, what? I share DNA with the psycho?"

"It was your contaminated DNA, as far as I know," Omega said, "Which explains a lot. I never met them, they were in stasis before I…left."

Zero let the information sink in. "Is there nothing Gate won't do?" Omega had no reply, so he shrugged. Suddenly, an alarm ripped through the empty cellblock.

"What's that?" Omega asked, looking up.

"That's the general alarm," Zero said, recognising the tone of the alarm, "Unspecified threat to HQ. You feel up to a fight?"

"Let me loose, and I'll make sure to pay the Mavericks back for everything they've done," Omega said. Zero used his Vice-Commander override to let Omega out of his cell, and the two, after a brief discussion with the guard, headed up to the main assembly room, where the Hunters are supposed to gather when the alarms sound.

The main assembly hall was still filling up when Zero and Omega arrived. The two walked straight through the middle of the massive room, Hunters parting to let them through. Whispers shot through the assembled crowd; the two greatest Hunters in history were now on the same side. When Zero and Omega made it to the main podium, the other members of the newly formed Mega Squad only gave Zero quizzical looks, who gave them only a shake of the head. Omega stood away from the main group, and Zero took his place at Signas's side.

"What's the emergency?" Zero asked. Signas stared straight ahead, not responding. "Sir?"

Signas jumped slightly, shaking himself. "We got an alert in the outer part of the city; Mavericks, about five hundred of them. They're holding position in one of the ruined areas."

"Five hundred?" Zero asked, frowning, "We killed at least that many during the siege. Where are they getting the men?"

"My guess would be they're Reploids," Signas said, "Seeing as I know for a fact we've barely been able to keep our standing force at three thousand since the siege and there's been no defectors recently that I know of."

"_Sir," _a Navigator's voice came over the intercom, _"The Maverick forces haven't moved since we picked them up. The leader is messaging us."_

"Put it through on the main screen," Signas ordered. A massive screen descended from the ceiling, and an image flickered to life. Dynamo, with Prometheus and Pandora flanking him, stood in front of the Maverick army.

"_Hello, are we getting through?" _Dynamo said, peering at whatever camera was recording them. _"I am Dynamo, Ground Commander of the Maverick forces. Am I speaking with Commander Signas of the Maverick Hunters?"_

"Can he hear us?" Signas asked, and when he got an affirmative from the Navigators, "I am Signas. I take it you're one of the Reploids that gave my best men and woman a run for their money."

"_Oh, if that's your best, then without Zero, I take it we'd have won." _Dynamo said, _"Well, that makes our job easier. Before you get delusions, this is not our glorious day; we've a comparatively simple mission."_

"Oh, and what's that?"

"_We're going to kill you. With your death, our lord Sigma will have no opposition. We'll be seeing you in thirty two hours."_ Dynamo terminated the connection, and the assembly hall was deathly silent.

Signas said nothing for several minutes, then turned to his men. Rage was in his eyes, tempered by quiet resignation. "Prepare for battle," Signas said loudly, attracting all attention. "17th Elite, I want the area surrounding HQ evacuated inside of ten hours; 6th Marines, 32nd Special, I want our defences shored up. Navigators will handle our outer defences, and I want all Squads on the front lines. Mega Squad, Omega, meet me in my office." Signas strode out, looking intimidating as he left everyone stunned.

"Well, you heard the man!" Zero roared after taking a moment to gather himself. After making sure everyone was moving to perform their separate duties, Zero led his team and his brother out of the assembly hall and towards Signas's office.

"What do you think the plan is?" X asked Zero, concerned.

"I don't know," Zero said honestly, "But whatever it is, it cannot be a good plan."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because any sane plan would have Signas leaving the building, not staying here."

Mega Squad and Omega were assembled in Signas's office, their commander staring out of the window solemnly. You could see, even from this height, the masses of people being guided out of the city by the Hunters.

"Alright, this is the plan," Signas said, not turning around, "X, you and the rest of Mega Squad are going to lead the front line defence of HQ." A hologram appeared in the middle of the room: Signas had one installed for private briefings since Elpizo's attempted coup. Zero watched the holographic display. Blue dots for Hunters, red hunters for Mavericks, and green for the surrounding buildings. It wasn't a sophisticated display, but it did the trick."

"What about me, sir?" Zero asked.

"You and Omega will be leading separate strike teams in a pincer manoeuvre," Signas said, and the holographic display changed accordingly. "I'm having the 32nd Marine and the 6th Elite lock up the streets and setting up the Bottleneck. You'll attack from Main Street, which will be kept open only for as long as it takes for you to get in." Zero had never heard of the Bottleneck, but the others were all surprised.

"Sir, is that going to work?" X asked, "The last time the Bottleneck was used was during the Eve War, and it didn't work then."

"All we need to do is slow the main force down," Signas said. "We won't be able to stop the Reploids, but if we can keep the Mavericks tied up there, then they should be the only Mavericks to make it through."

"Sir," X said, "I don't have to remind you that the only reason that we survived our last fight is because of Zero, do I?"

"I'm well aware of that fact," Signas said, "And my word is final. X will lead Mega Squad and coordinate the main defence force of the Squads. Zero and Omega will lead the strike force. Now, suit up and move into position." The squad wanted to argue, but they simply saluted and left.

"This is crazy," Harpuia said, "What does Signas hope to gain from closing the Bottleneck?"

Zero didn't respond, but he had an idea. The squad broke off and Zero remained behind, waving away Omega, who looked concerned. Once the squad was gone, Zero went back into Signas's office.

"This is crap, Signas," Zero said, and before Signas could respond, Zero launched into a tirade. "You're a brilliant tactical mind, and you're trying to force the Mavericks, who have soldiers with more destructive capability than a small nuke, into a bottleneck? To top THAT off, you're putting the only two troops that can match Sigma's elite soldiers deep into the enemy forces. I put as much stock in my friend's skills as you do, but there is no way in hell that they can match the Reploids! Are you trying to let them kill you!?"

Signas didn't answer, which was all the answer Zero needed. Zero turned and left in a rage. Signas turned back to look out the window, before patching himself down to the Navigator Room. "Ciel, I need a favour; prep Special Order Alpha 1"


End file.
